A Cascade Of Stars
by Nephilentines
Summary: A man leading a nomadic life settles down as the world of YGGDRASIL ends to say goodbye to someone he loved at the pond where they shared their hearts. But alas, the faithless become the faithful, and a hope is rekindled once more. Original story set in the same settings as the novels, but without any of the novel's characters.
1. CH1: Farewell Wish

There are certain words to describe one who moves about. A nomad, a wanderer, a lost one. There are those who wander because they must, those who wander because they are forced to, or those who simply choose to. Brian Aurum Drake was one of the people belonging to the last category.

He'd played nearly every game possible in the 22nd century. A man in his early twenties, in this single life he had live he'd experienced countless others. From FPS games, to strategy, to MMORPG's, the amount of lives Brian has lived through the eyes of characters number in perhaps, hundreds, if not thousands. Yet he'd always come back to YGGDRASIL, having been the first game that he had dove in to that expanded his horizons.

In every other game, Brian would simply rush towards the game's meta apex, or otherwise known as "max level" or "best geared", in any way possible, be it pay to win or an appropriate level of skill. In fact, the lifetime of games that were pay to win were even less than the skill required ones. Brian did after all, possess a well paying job as a corporate treasurer, albeit a bit boring. If he did not like it, he would simple abandon the game and never look back. In a way, he became famous for his username, having appearing in hundreds of games. With every single one of them always having someone ask:

"Who is Nephilentines?"

And there would be no correct answer. Brian himself did not know. He left a trail of broken hopes throughout the vast internet. It is then odd, that a man like Brian, who would throw aside any other game in a moment's notice would linger on YGGDRASIL.

It was because Brian was trying to live a life he could not have.

It was because of her.

Her name was Viqtoria. A beautiful name to Brian. She had been the very first friend he had made after coming to America. She taught him basic words in English, simple phrases. They had bonded over this curious interested in each other's worlds. First, came greetings.

"Hello."

Then, came expressions.

"How was your day?"

Next, conversations.

"It was fun! We did a lot in recess."

They did not go to the same schools, but they lived close by each other, in the same apartment complex. Brian lived there because, having recently immigrated, his family had no money to spare. Viqtoria lived there, because she liked the school, and her parents were well off enough that they could afford it comfortably than paying for a home or a digi-hotel.

Every day after school they would meet up and converse. Run amok in the playground in the complex, any every other little things that seemed to amazing to kids that seem boring to adults now. Yet the thing Brian loved the most was that Viqtoria would play the violin. He wanted to play too, to join her on her beautiful serenade of magic. But alas he could not afford an instrument.

Then, came the day Viqtoria's father bought a guitar for Brian. This, was the moment, in Brian's mind, that he started living. From then on every single day they had time, the two would drown in one another's melodies. A consortium of sounds that echo upon walls and trees. This was their song, and it continued for over twelve years. Their duality allowed Brian to eventually attend the same college as she did. They fueled their dreams and their passion of gaming with smarts and love. Their band named Skyaezaeir, a twenty second century word meaning:

A certain unexpected happiness. The same feeling Brian had when he was given the guitar.

In YGGDRASIL, they too were muses. Though as they aged, they expanded to various instruments. At their prime age of 19 they had both mastered virtually every instrument that is easily accessible, from cellos's to piano, violin, drums, guitar, percussion. Of course, obscure instruments eluded them, but that was the nature of such objects.

They traveled the realms, from Niflheim to Jotunheim, to Asgard and Muspellsheimr, they wandered in wonder in each other's grasp. Playing their song as they went. They had declined invitations from various high level guilds in favor of creating a two man guild for themselves: Skyaezaeir. Their strength was the epitome of power for two players. If content was able to be beat by two players, then rest assured it was Brian and Viqtoria that would triump. That was their skill. Their unity. They owned each other's every rhythm. They knew they were at a disadvantage for content that needed more than two, but that did not matter in the presence of one another.

They had, of course, made a few allies, which helped them acquire high level gear which would have otherwise been impossible for the two of them. This is simply put because some bosses cannot be beaten by two, no matter how much damage they can do or take. Their triumphant moment was when they acquired two Grand Soul Stones. They used these to make companions for themselves. Viqtoria modeled her Soul Stone into something resembling her real best friend. Brian simply modelled his after celebrity crush he had, as he was quite the introvert, and thus, did not have many friends. This did of course, annoy Viqtoria, but it was in good spirits, these two new souls were theirs but their hearts were each others.

They named them Verdandi and Diyandi, after the names of the two sides of Gemini, a new faith born within the late twenty first century.

Two now four, with doubled forces sought a home. But that was cut short.

On a pleasant sunny day in New Washington, Brian was still in class at the his University while Viqtoria was having a day off. She was buying produce for their dinner that night at a nearby food market. Close enough that a car would just be a needless time consumption. She took the hoverboard instead.

On the way home, there was a siren off in the distance. Viqtoria at the time was cruising slowly towards the shared home she had with Brian, when the drunk driver of the pursued vehicle attempting to evade the authorities swerved into her.

Viqtoria died that day. Not an act of spiteful murder or brewing tragedy diseases. But a casualty of life. A victim of the going ons at any given moment in time.

Hearts were broken. Viqtoria's parents, Brian's parents. But most of all, his. This started a inner downward spiral. Brian became depressed, and dove even deeper into gaming to drown his sorrows. He stopped caring, and a string of tattered hearts and broken promises later he started hating. Hate, that no other would be as great as her. Hate, that he was like this. Hate, that, that... He didn't know it would be their last day on that bright day. Sorrow, that he would never see her again.

So it was then, that after wandering vast worlds of games and adventures, he came back to YGGDRASIL on the last day it was supposed to shutdown.

He logged in to find himself in a forest. The forest that they had played to the skies in. Their twin servants Verdandi and Diyandi kneeling to him.

"Follow." Said Brian.

He walked through Grove of the forest, to the pond that he and Viqtoria had enjoyed. There, he felled a nearby tree with a single swipe undetectable by human eyes. The force of the tree hitting the ground sent every bird that was chirping into the atmosphere. It was now only the rippling surface of the pond's waters.

"Fire."

Verdandi, responding to her master's command, created a small Wisp Fyre in the centre of the pond. The light reflecting off its metallic dark surface illuminating the surrounding area. There, Brian sat, his back against the log, enjoying the warmth of the fire and staring into the night sky.

 _I would have loved to touch these stars with you._

Brian thought. He started dosing off as the countdown closed in on zero. The traveler now sessile. At rest. He opened his friends list again one last time. Names of comrades danced under his fingers. Some he had enjoyed tough battles with. Some he traded secrets with. But her name, stood at the top. Her, he had shared his world with. A traveler in life, and in game. At the final world that he felt close to Her. He looked at his two servants.

 _Look what we've made, love. How I wish you were still here._

Brian was never a man of god. He had never believed in a higher entity. Not out of spite, nor out of arrogance, but because he simply did not need to. He had all the love he wanted. But now, it was different. He still, did not believe in god. But he now believed in an afterlife. At the very least, some sort of other world. Some other world where he hoped to see Her again.

And as the countdown closed to zero, do did Brian's consciousness dim. The last thought before he surrendered to the calm embrace of nocturne:

 _Maybe in another life we will meet again._

 _0_


	2. AN, Character Sheet: Nephilentines

**Author Notes:**

 **Hello, guys, I'm the author. Thank you for reading this story, first of all. I've been a fan of overlord for a long time now, and I found the time to write my own tales based on its mythologies. Anyways, I'm not really sure what to say here, so I'll give you guys a character sheet. People here seem to love these. I'll try to have one with every couple of chapters I write. Maybe even one per chapter. But alas, here is the main character:**

Name: **Nephilentines**

Real Name: **Brian Aurum Drake**

Titles in YGGDRASIL: **The Ghost White, Scorn Of Myths, Discordria's King, Mind Of The Two, Grand Manipulator, Silence.**

Gender: **Male**

Height: **170cm**

Race: **Heteromorphic Race: Pure Thought Entity**

 **Sub Race 1: Exalted Lord (True Form)**

 **Sub Race 2: Arch Devil (Current Body)**

Guild: **Skyaezaeir**

Karma: **Neutral**

Level Distribution:

\- Racial Levels:

 **Spirit (10)**

 **Wraith (5)**

 **Phantasm (5)**

 **Formless Entity (5)**

 **Pure Thought Entity (5)**

 **-** Job Levels:

 **Essence Manipulator (10)**

 **Shapeshifter (10)**

 **Energy Projector (10)**

 **Arcanum Conflux (5)**

 **Grand Energy Manipulator (5)**

 **Fragile King (5)**

 **Blade Master (10)**

 **Sword Saint (10)**

 **Cursed Knight (5) For a Total of 100 racial and job levels.**

Description: Nephilentine's skill build is a mix of magical force with brutal armed melee combat. The closest word to this combination of skills would be a "spellblade" or a "spellsword". All of the magic that Nephilentines has is limited to buffs, but he makes up for this by utilizing Energy manipulation to simulate spells. This has the added benefit of not consuming mana, but rather his physical and mental fatigue. Thus, they are not true spells, but more of skills. His racial classes make him invulnerable to true bodily harm at the cost of not being able to cause harm unless he has a vessel to act through. The same properties of Wraith based builds also offer him defense penetration, as he can simply phase through swords or shields, and remain nearly undetectable. The trump card Nephilentines possesses is a unique class: Fragile King, only obtainable by becoming one of very few Pure Thought Entities in the entire population of YGGDRASIL.

EDIT: Thanks to Oeiltheend for the level evaluations.


	3. CH2: Traveler Again

_These feathers of mine will uplift your sorrows._

 _These scales of mine will drown your disfavor._

Brian woke up to the sounds of bird chirping. He had simply leaned his head back on the log.

 _The log? Didn't I sleep in the DIVE chair?_

He looked forward to see that the pond was still a bit rippling from a source in the center. A faint, fire shifting from blue to green and back in various shades and speed.

 _Wisp Fyre?_

Brian looked behind him to see Verdandi and Diyandi bowing to him.

"Good morning Lord Nephilentines" They said in unison.

Brian was in shock. He did not know what to say, thus he tried to play it off.

"Raise your heads" He said, and they acted.

He ignored them as they came up and looked around. It didn't disturb him that they were talking and enacting actions. He and Viqtoria had wished for such things ever since they had been created, but he realized this was probably too good to be true. He was in an unknown land. The landscape still resemble the Forest Grove he was in yesterday, but he felt there were less trees and more flowers than usual. First, he had to check if this was a lucid dream. Pain. He bit his tongue, and sure enough, felt pain.

 _Not a lucid dream. And the twins are moving. If only you can see this._

Next, he pondered if this was a DIVE glitch. He came to the conclusion that he can't be suffering from a glitch. The DIVE helmet would numb any immediate pain, and any injury one suffers while in a DIVE state would only be noticed after the DIVE ends as a lingering sear, not an acute instance. He had imagined he was in a coma, but sensations like armor on his skin were too consistent to be a coma. Thus, one fringe possibility became an approximation to him. Brian slowly realized he was in another world.

To test this, he turned to the pond again and produced a shadow hand. The hand impaled the ground and curved underneath the pond, rising up to the surface to grasp the Wisp Fyre, a scene almost resembling a demonic kind of lotus blooming. But it is at this that Brian realized he truly was in another world. He felt everything the arm felt. Energy projections like the shadow hand in YGGDRASIL would only register sensations on the palm, as to reduce bandwidth consumption and data requirements. But here, Brian Felt every single root of grass that he dug through, and felt the sensation change from where the dirt gave rise to the bottom of the pond.

 _This is reality. I..._

"Lord Nephilentines?" Verdandi asked. Brian turned to the two, who gave him curious looks.

"Hm. Just Neph will suffice" Neph said.

"As you will, Lord Neph." Verdandi and Diyandi replied.

Neph felt his sight linger on them for a bit. He never realized he and Viqtoria crafted such intricacy in to these two. His gaze going from one to the other, their eyes turned from curiosity to that of a mix between puppy dog eyes and embarassed ones, their faces turning red in unison. Realizing how he probably made them feel, he looked away.

"Does anyone know where we are?"

"No, we appeared to be transported while we were sleeping." Diyandi replied. She flew up on manifested energy wings to a height of about 60 meters and came down.

"There appear to be a settlement about a few hundred meters south from here, with smoke rising from it. Too large to be a simple fire, suggesting a cultivated action, perhaps a inferno." Diyandi added.

"I detected the life signs in that general direction as well, and they seem to be moving in a frenetic unorganized manner, suggesting a pillage." Verdandi added to her sister's investigation.

 _Wow. These two are incredibly smart. They resemble the descriptions we had put for them, love._

Overcome by a feeling that could only be described as a father's rising pride for his child's achievement, he simply stared amazed at them.

"Please grant us your will, Lord Neph." They both said and bowed in sync.

Neph pondered before replying.

"Hm, we are in a unknown land, and there appears to be a pillage happening a few hundred meters south of here. A pillage implies there will be people needing help. Let's head here and see if we can forge friendly relations after dealing with the situation. Our primary directive for the moment is to obtain as much information as possible about this... Brave new world."

Neph felt a little bit embarrassed saying "Brave New World". Right now walking south, there was nothing more he wanted to do than to know. Thus, taking the implications of a pillage going on near here, he presumed he can obtain information via barter or as a token of gratitude.

Neph and Viqtoria were level one hundreds. They were fairly strong within their narrow scope of talents. Not enough to destroy whole worlds, but perhaps enough to lead one to ruin. This was, of course, including the strength of the Gemini Twins Verdandi and Diyandi. He did not know the strength levels of the inhabitants of this world.

"Be on your guard. Activate [Phylacteral Link]." Neph commanded.

[Phylacteral Link] was a skill that split damage amongst members tuned in to it. It was developed from a need for the Skyaezaeir duo's lack of a tank. This thus was a patchwork option, but as their agility in game increased, this skill seemed better than a tank, as a tank would be quite slow to keep up with them. Naturally, when the two Soul Stones were molded into the Gemini Twins, they were given this ability as well. A form of "parental affection" to their represent twin daughters.

Each of the three cast this on the other two, and soon enough, they all had two bands on their left arm. Damage was now split at an even one thirds per person in this group. As an additional safely measure, Neph activated [Bond Of Chaos].

[Bond Of Chaos] was an evolution of the [Phylacteral Link]. This one gave an additional one thirds damage reduction to all members under the effect of the link. In addition, it caused a medium amount of poison damage to those between the holders of this Bond, signified by a purple thread extending between the bands.

"Get ready to-"

Neph stopped. He had forgotten something. What did he look like?

"Lord Neph?" The twins asked.

Neph paid no heed and instead produced a gigantic claymore, designed for single devastating blows out of his inventory. The width of the blade was a thing to behold. It was as wide as a grown man's entire chest, and likewise denoted that it required extreme amounts of strength to wield.

"I apologize, I simply need to see how I look right now" He explained.

"You look dashing as always, Lord Neph" Verdandi slipped.

"Yes, I agree with my sister" Diyandi interjected.

 _Oh man they're no help if they're just yes-mans._

Neph took a look at the face he currently wore.

 _Speaking of current faces, I am a Pure Thought Entity. Am I now permanently a Arch Devil? I'll need to test my abilities later._

He did see that the face was one that could be said to be "handsome", even by the standards of other men. Though it was not enough to swoon on sight, it was still a pleasant sight. His spiked ears and spiked teeth notwithstanding, he looked like an approachable guy. An approachable guy covered in layers of armor. He activated the shapeshifting class's [Minor Mold] to change his ears to be rounded, like humans, and his teeth to be like a human set too, as far as he could from memory.

 _I think this is enough to appear normal. I don't have to worry about Verdandi and Diyandi as they are both angelic based classes, so that's fine._

"Verdandi, analyze me and see if my classes have changed."

Verdandi activated [Billion Facet Lens] and reported:

"Your power is the same as always, my Exalted Lord."

"Your magnificence, but I am curious as to why you are second guessing yourself? You are the great and powerful Lord Nephilentines as you've always been to us." Diyandi blurted out. Neph looked at Verdandi on the side and she shared the same "it's you as always" expression.

"I was worried things may have happened in our sleep while we were transported." He said that honestly. But he was a bit afraid as well. What could have happened to send him to this reality?

The twins gave an understanding nod.

"Lord Neph, may I ask where Lady Alekszara I-"

A beam of light erupted in the direction of their leisure walking. Neph did hear what Verdandi asked. But he himself did not know now. So many new things have happened. He pushed it to the back of his mind.

"Let's hasten this." He ordered.

"[Aspect Of The Arch Devil: Fallen Heathen's Wings]" Wings sprouted from the back of Neph's armor. They appeared as two normal angel wings with a gray tinge. But upon closer inspections, one can see that each feather was a human finger bone, which at its closed resting position, gave the wings a sort of "prayer" look.

Neph jumped up and soared.

 _This... This is amazing! If only you were here with me._

He looked back to see the twins following him with their [True Manifest Wings].

"[Veil Of The Wicked]!" Neph shouted. A dark magenta enshrouded the three on flight route towards the forces near the beam of light.

 _If they are enemies, then this veil will be the last revelation they see._

* * *

"HUGGGHAAAAAAAAAAAA"

The clanging of metal could be heard.

"Give it up Gazef, you can't save these people." Nigun Grid Luin spoke in a cold tone.

"So long, as I posses breath within my lungs and a passion within my heart, I WILL NEVER GIVE UP! Martial Art: [Titan Blow]!" Gazef Stronoff roared in return.

Gazef leaped forward, perform a wide cleave which cut clean through three summoned [Angel Flames]. They dispersed the moment after, seemingly as if one were to part the clouds. Gazed stood there panting, holding onto life with a mortal conviction. He had made it here just in time that this staged provocation would not cost the lives of many of the villagers here. But now, as he slowly tuned in to the situation, it was costing more of his men, and soon, the same price he starved off will come back to him, the lost of these villagers, if he cannot stand. The blue light behind Nigun worried Gazef even more. He did not know of a way to stop it, and he did not know what it entailed. Six magic casters behind Nigun were chanting energy into this beam which towered over trees. Gazef realized that he needed to win this. He must.

But these legions of [Angel Flames] keep coming and coming. At the convergence of all these thoughts, Gazef shot a glance into the eyes of Nigun. These said that Gazef had let go of his mortal coil. His conviction now transcending the need to live. And this gaze was not one for superficiality, no. This look was burned in to the very soul of Nigun.

"Tch, very well. This is the end." Nigun said, clutching his fist to a white knuckle. Having been sent on orders to ravage, he was now going to kill Gazef Stronoff instead. Having put up more of a fight than expected, Nigun respected this man, even if on a basic level.

Nigun turned to the Six Divinitaries of the Sun.

 _Almost ready._

He thought.

"Hyrraaaa!"

Nigun turned just in time to see Gazef had closed the distance on him after making past a swarm of [Angel Flames] from the rest of the Scripture Strikeforce.

CLANG

Nigun barely managed to conjure up an [Angel Flame] to block the strike that would have beheaded him.

"Nice try, but not quite. Seems that attack cost you dearly." Nigun said, looking at the missing forearm from Gazef's right elbow.

"And now, it'll cost you more. Feast your eyes on the strongest Angel of the sun! [Grandis Lux]!"

A seven meter tall angel appeared in front of Gazef. Its armor, adorned with the ridges and plates resembling a texture of the shining sun, the angled gauntlets, boots and epaulets appearing like the waning of fading sunset, and a helmet with large upward thorns mimicking the crown of a rising sun. Brilliant wings shine on its backs, under the glow of an pearlescent halo.

And in it's hand was a blade conjured of pure solid golden light.

 _This is bad. No. Bad is an understatement._

Gazef thought. Gritting his teeth. He could hear and see the men under his command giving it their all as well. A battle of blades and spells span the entirety of this village.

 _Gods, if there were any wish I could make to you, then please, give me strength to get through one more day. And if it were not possible, and not possible to save the people behind me..._

He looked at the people behind him. Villagers. Weak, helpless.

 _Then I hope you will take me instead, and have it be my selfish request that they be saved somehow._

His conviction made, he grasps his sword with his remaining arm and charged forward with a roar that shook the earth itself.

"UUUWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

CLANG

Gazef opened his eyes to see a faint magenta mist, and someone in ornate armor blocking [Grandis Lux]'s blade from killing him.

WOOSH

The seven meter Angel was knocked back considerably, far enough that it had to flap its wings once to return to the Six Divinitaries that summoned it. Every Magic Caster under Nigun's command stopped, stunned.

"It appears you require assistance." The warrior in front of Gazef turned to him. Gazef could see the man was wearing a strange mask. A white, mouthless one, with four short horns on both sides which bent upwards at the end. Atop his head, was three smaller horns, one in the center of the forehead at the front, bending to the back of his head, and two in the back near the tops of the side horns, bending forwards to the eyes. This arrangement gave off the appearance of a crown, and in combination with the horns on the side, gave one an image of a armored, mouthless lion.

It was after examining these features that Gazef noticed the slight inhumanity of the one in front of him. The eye sockets in the mask had no eyeballs, but only a pitch black void. And atop the crown of his mask, in place of where one would find hair as one wore a mask covering their entire front face, was a small white fire.

""Who are you?"" Gazef and Nigun both said in unison. They glared at each other.

"For the moment, to you, an ally. I have been watching this battle for long enough to know that you are the one with a disadvantage." The man spoke in a rational tone.

"I ask again, do you require assistance?"

"Tch, alright, I'll trust you for this moment." Gazef said begrudgingly, and took a defensive stance behind the strange warrior.

"You never answered my question! WHO. ARE. YOU!" Nigun yelled at the top of his lungs towards the new party, fuming with anger.

"First things first. There appear to be wounded villagers. Verdandi, Diyandi, tend to them."

"Yes Lord Neph!" Two female voices said in unison, and magenta mist blew away from behind Neph's back.

Stunned at the sight of two Angels suddenly appearing and flying towards the villagers that they were fighting over, both Gazef and Nigun's forces were stunned in silence.

"And now to answer your question. You could say that I am a traveler"


	4. AN, Character Sheet: Alekszara

**A/N: Hello guys! It's me again. It took me a bit to type up this story, as it's an attempt at a longer chapter. That and other projects relating to college. In addition, I was writing out story points for this series. I have a set direction now, so chapters should be coming out a bit quicker, having only be limited by my actual typing time and if I have it. So as like last time, here's a Character Sheet for you troubles. I hope you enjoyed this new chapter and future chapters! :)**

Name: **Alekszara**

Real Name: **Viqtoria Orianna Snow**

Titles in YGGDRASIL: **Calamity's Queen, Chordinae Twitch, Hundred Soul Span, Ethereal Cadence, Epitome Of Fates, Null.**

Gender: **Female**

Height: **162cm**

Race: **Angelic Race: Ascendant Seraphim**

Guild: **Skyaezaeir**

Karma: **Positive 100**

\- Racial Levels:

 **Angel (10)**

 **Archangel (10)**

 **Seraphim (5)**

 **Ascendant Seraphim (5)**

\- Job Levels:

 **Spellcaster (15)**

 **Spellthief (10)**

 **Arcane Arbiter (5)**

 **Elementalist (10)**

 **Elemental Conflux (5)**

 **Bowmaster (10)**

 **Saint Of The Stringed Arch (5)**

 **Thousand Yard Bull's Eye (5)**

 **Celestial Nomad (2)**

 **Dimension Stepper (2)**

 **Void Walker (1) For a Total of 100 racial and job classes.**

Description: Viqtoria's avatar, Alekszara, is an Archangel of the highest class, one of an Ascendant Seraphim. Getting this job requires you to have at least 5 levels in the Seraphim class, and that class alone has a prerequisite of Angel and Archangel. This, in addition to taking a "Trial Of Ascendancy" hosted once annually on the 25th of December, the birth of Christ. This Trial was not a developer hosted event, but rather one put in place by them. The Trial involves fighting off other would be Ascendants as well as delving into the Lord's Labyrinth, a grand maze atop the highest of clouds. Alekszara is also the holder of another rare job, that of Void Walker. This is obtained by reaching 100% exploration on the map of YGGDRASIL, as well as beating at least 5 World Event bosses. This job allows the holder to travel to any place that they have been to without any cost, meaning 100% of YGGDRASIL, as the requirements to have the class dictates you mastering it. They would simply shatter into glass and reappear at their chosen location instantly, and this effect transfers to a maximum of 4 people. Alekszara belongs to a group of people who put low amounts of levels into their Racial Levels, instead opting to be more of a Universalist via varied and numerous Job Levels. A testament to this, she is able to cast a higher than normal number of Tier 10 spells, and when out of mana, resorts to her archery prowess to fight.


	5. CH3: Dance of the three

_Huh, so magic does seem to work like I think it does. I had my suspicions, but this really is YGGDRASIL. But how?_

"Lord Neph, we are in close proximity to the beam. What should we do?" Diyandi asked through [Message], concealing their voice within [Veil Of The Wicked]. The Veil itself was a spell that concealed one's presence almost perfectly, with the downside that it does not conceal sound. But, in spite of this, most means of magical detection and beast senses do not apply to those within Veil, only world items and tier 10 or super tier spells can detect it.

 _Not being able to make a sound is kind of annoying but hey, this is the 4_ _th_ _best concealment spell within YGGDRASIL._

"I see them now. Seems like there's a warrior band and a magician troupe. We'll stay silent and watch for now. We don't know which sides to be on." Neph replied, again through [Message].

Neph and the twins landed a bit away from the middle of the battle. Not quite too far, but close enough to hear the dialogue exchange.

 _Huh, those guys seem to be chanting something to summon an Angel. This is a good opportunity to observe the power levels of these.. I guess people now. Verdandi and Diyandi came to life, so I'm assuming the same here._

"So long as I possess breath within my lungs and a passion in my heart, I WILL NEVER GIVE UP!"

Neph's train of thought was interrupted by a shout from the wounded warrior. He could see that wounds all over the man, whose name was Gazef as Neph learned in passing, were bleeding. Then he witnessed the man cleaving three enemy Angels in half.

 _That's... a basic warrior move. But I don't recognize the style. Martial Arts? I'm assuming it's a sort of physical enhancement technique that, from the looks of it, empowers a single attack. That's sort of like my techniques, in particular, my Grand Edge series, if only on a basic level._

He ended his train of thought with that. Returning to the battle at hand, the warrior Gazef shot a gaze of conviction to the man across him, the head magic caster with blonde hair. The magic caster seemed to be shaken by this, and turned his head to the six people channeling the beam of energy behind him. In that instant, Neph saw that Gazef had noticed this as well. He was being held down by a few Angels, but what happened next surprised even Neph, and even the twins with him, as he looked to them and they looked to him with wide eyes.

You see, Gazef broke free of the Angels holding him down with a violent purge of brute force, but he'd done it in quite the silent way as to not have the blonde magic caster notice by sacrificing his right forearm, tearing it off. As soon as he was free, he leaped with grand cleave aimed straight for the blonde magic caster's neck.

CLANG

And it was blocked. The magic caster had conjured up an Angel with impeccable speed, so much so that Gazef's blade, blocked by the Angel's mace was mere centimeters from the caster's neck.

"Nice try, but not quite. Seems that attack cost you dearly."

"And now, it'll cost you even more. Feast your eyes on the strongest Angel of the sun! [Grandis Lux]!" The blonde man announced.

 _Ah, so it finally released. [Grandis Lux] eh? I think I've heard of that name before when I was with Viqtoria in Vanaheimr for her ascension into Seraphim. If I recall right, they were fairly common low level Angels. I think 26 was the exact level, but I'm not quite sure._

"It seems that the power in play here is quite low compared to us." Verdandi stated what the three of them suspected through [Message].

"Yes, but we should still be on guard. I'll move in first. You two stay hidden until my command." Neph told the two.

Neph moved with an speed unparalleled. He had gotten to Gazef just in time to put on his mask before blocking the Angel's blade.

CLANG.

He had blocked the Angel's [Hardlight Blade] with his armor's bracers.

 _As I thought, these are quite weak. I may not be in danger now, but it is still good to be wary. I might not be the only YGGDRASIL player here._

"It appears you require assistance." Neph said as [Veil Of The Wicked] faded away in a dark magenta mist.

""Who are you?"" both Gazef and the Blonde Magic Caster spoke in unison.

Ignoring them for a second, Neph looked to the village Gazef was protecting.

"First things first. There appear to be wounded villagers. Verdandi, Diyandi, tend to them."

"Yes Lord Neph!" The twins said and dispelled [Veil Of The Wicked], flying to the villagers.

Everyone else was stunned into silence at the sight of this. The villagers were weary at first, but then realized that the two new Angels were a different kind than the ones that were assaulting their home.

"And now to answer your question. You could say that I am a traveler." Neph finally responded to the question.

"A traveler?! ARE YOU INSULTING US?!" The magic caster responded with a visibly anger.

"Tch, no matter. I, Nigun Grid Luin of the Theocracy's Sunlight Scripture will destroy you." Nigun said as he pulled back [Grandis Lux], seemingly analyzing the best way to go about his objective of killing Neph.

Neph himself was on the lookout in the back ranks of the magic troup led by Nigun, watching for signs of player activity. He found none, letting him conclude that yes, Nigun was the highest authority here in this... Enemy force. He took one look behind him to assess the situation of the, in contrast, ally force of Gazef. The warriors led by him seemed to be half thinned out, with a fair portion having profuse bleeding visible. The ones who weren't rapidly falling into death were helping their teammates to the twin's sides, where they would be healed. Neph also noticed that Diyandi took after the villagers, while Verdandi stayed close to the front lines to receive more soldiers instead. Thus the current line up in order of positioning was this:

The village, with Diyandi tending to them in the far back.

Verdandi, on the outskirts of the village, receiving the soldiers.

Nephilentines, and Gazef who stood defensively behind Neph.

Then it was Nigun and his forces. [Grandis Lux] hung around the front.

"Hmp, enough contemplation, [Grandis Lux], ATTACK!, those with ranged attack magic, fire at the new enemy as well!" Nigun ordered a joint attack. Layers of spells flew at Neph and Gazef, and [Grandis Lux] advanced, dragging its [Hardlight Blade] on the ground.

 _Let's test something shall we?_

In response to the coming attacks, Neph quickly drew out a mid level blade. It was a ferocious looking thing. A silver-blue tinted, segmented blade with two large serrated teeth on each segment, totalling in about 30 segment total, not counting the segment on the end. The segment on the attacking end of the blade was a twisted, but flat, hooked looking thing, and it seemed like it would take entire chunks of flesh out of you if you were just to touch it. The handle was a simple blade handle, albeit with a chain that wrapped onto the user's hand.

This was the [Dying Empress]. A bladed weapon under the category of whips, a whip-blade if you will. It was around Legacy class in YGGDRASIL's item ranking system, but Neph regarded it as a mid tier item as it was more flashy than packing a large punch.

Gazef, seeing the spells flying towards them as well as the large Angel [Grandis Lux] readying it's blade, tried to limp forward to counter somehow, but Neph extended his arm and stopped Gazef.

Neph channeled a low amount of energy into the blade, and flicked it at the coming spells. The energy infused with the blade made it a potent magic ward, and as the blade extended its segments, deflected every single spell that aimed for them to the sides, causing huge explosions.

"What!" Numerous voices cried out.

Next came [Grandis Lux], after dragging its [Hardlight Blade] from Nigun's side to Neph, leaving a large trail of split earth, raised that same blade to the skies, piercing the clouds itself, reading itself for a humongous, overhead swing, the likes of which was so impactful, that one could swear it can level a city block. The blade, from its close proximity to Neph, and due to its length and angle of swing, actually extended towards the village. It could actually hit a few of the villagers and most of the frontline soldiers, who were now mostly healed. That is, of course, if it could get through Neph. But it didn't.

Neph simply flicked the [Dying Empress] again, and before the [Hardlight Blade] even finished swinging, it was shattered into fragments of lights, which disappeared shortly after. A second whip, and [Grandis Lux] too, was shattered into fragments of blue light.

"HOW! ONE HIT!" Nigun screamed. He was astounded. Who was this mysterious warrior who showed up and annihilated a high level Angel in a single hit?!

Gazef too, was stunned. He, seeing this, was reassured, but at the same time worried. Reassured that the villagers were safe. Worried, that there was nothing he can do against someone stronger than himself should he become an enemy. Just then, the two Angels who accompanied this man returned to his side.

"Lord Neph, we have finished healing those injured." Verdandi stated their accomplishment.

"Goodwork. One of you, erect a barrier to protect these villagers from more spells." Neph stated in return.

"As you will, my Lord." Diyandi responded.

Gazef was amazed at the loyalty of these two. And at their power. The one called Diyandi, an Angel who, to Gazef possessed mismatched eyes, one green, one amber, turned to the villagers and kneeled. She then clasped her hands together, as if in prayer, and then slammed them on the ground in front of her, palm first.

"[Barrier Field]!" She shouted. A runic circle then encompassed the entirely of the village, as well as the soldiers under Gazef's command who were in there. After a second, a wall of light erupted towards the skies. It dwarfed treetops, and the light it emanated signified that it was strong and sturdy.

This is further evident by Nigun launching a spell at the barrier, and having it be blocked.

"Tch. I DEMAND TO KNOW YOUR NAME!" Nigun yelled, his other option of potentially holding the villagers hostage now no longer a viable choice.

"HOW DARE YOU-" The twins were cut off by their Lord's raised hand.

"My name is Nephilentines. These are my subordinates, Verdandi and Diyandi." Neph responded coldly.

 _Nephilentines? I've never heard of this name in folklore or myths. Who is he?_

These thoughts happened simultaneously within the minds of both Nigun and Gazef.

"Say, those spells you all casted. They seem awfully familiar to me. Where did you learn them?" Neph said. He took a step forward, raising [Dying Empress], though not in a manner to which he can attack, he simply wanted to point at the opposition. Nevertheless, the entirety of Nigun's magician troupe took a few steps back.

 _What is this man saying?! Does he not know where magic comes from?! I have no choice, I must use what they gave me!_

Nigun thought of the order from the Cardinals. He pulled a Magic Crystal from his pouch. This was one of the sacred artefacts owned by the Slane Theocracy, created out of large scale rituals with powers borrowed from those stronger than themselves. In it, contained a sealed, powerful Angel.

"We'll defeat you with this! COME FORTH, THE HIGHEST LEVEL ANGEL! DOMINION AUTHORITY!" Nigun shouted. His men, cheering to the heavens that they are saved from this strange and powerful new foe.

The Crystal emanated a radiant light, one which would rival ten suns, basking all in its whiteness. The clouds part ways to allow a gentle beam of serene light to seep through, shining on the battlefield of blood, bones, and corpses like a daybreak on a sprouted seed after a terrible storm. Then came a flurry of feathers, a rush of many little white pieces that enshrouded the entire magic garrison, seemingly washing their worries and their sins away.

Then, in its place stood a gigantic Angel. This one dwarfed [Grandis Lux] by a large margin. Easily towering over entire forests. In its hand it held a three pronged scepter which joined again at the furthest point. Its wings, spanning possibly entire mountains, rains gentle feathers to those below, as if shedding spring itself. On its helmet face, resided a halo so large it might as well be considered a grand sigil, with points jutting out in many directions. This was, [Dominion Authority], the strongest Angel in possession of the Scripture.

Diyandi then casted a information spell on it, [Level Evaluate]. One of the Six Divinitaries next to Nigun witnessing this sacrilegious act, decided to attack.

"HOW DARE YOU ATTEMPT TO DEFILE THE HIGHEST LEVEL ANGEL, YOU FALSE IDOL! [Lightning Bolt]!" The man yelled, launching a high speed arc towards Diyandi.

"[Solid Lightning]"

VZZSTSTSZZZSSSSTT

There was a brief blue flash. It was very faint, nowhere near the level of the light the summoning of [Dominion Authority] had caused. However, it was very noticeable.

The Divinitary who cast [Lightning Bolt] shattered into chunks of ice. The magic casters all saw that, and they looked to Nigun with fear in their eyes.

Nigun too, felt something. There was a pain on his cheek. He touched it. He looked at his hand. There was blood. He was cut.

 _HOW?! WHAT HAPPENED!? THAT SWORDSMAN IS STILL STANDING OVER THERE WITH HIS BLADE TO THE GROUND!_

The spell that was used by Verdandi was [Solid Lightning]. A spell which combined the aspects of ice and lightning. It gave ice the power to grow and freeze at the speed of lightning, a fast property. This fast growing would pierce targets like a hardened blade, thus, giving this spell Physical Damage property instead of an Energy property like normal lightning. In addition, the ice retained its cold temperature, which opposed normal lightning's hotness. Anything struck by this [Solid Lightning] would instantly flash freeze. And those who could survive the freezing, or were immune to freezing would suffer gerviously minced flesh, with shards of broken ice lodged within them. Of course, the Divinitary shattered. It was to be expected, after all, from someone so weak.

"Don't you dare attack my sister, you fools." Verdandi spoke, her mismatched eyes blue and purple glaring with murderous intent so vicious Gazef, who was standing behind the three, sprout goosebumps on this skin.

"Lord Neph, the Angel appears to be level 47." Diyandi reported to Neph.

 _As suspected. Theses are from YGGDRASIL, there's no way around it. No coincidence, no nothing, but it is not quite the same._

"Hm." Neph sighed. The twins stood down.

"COMMANDER! PLEASE DO SOMETHING!" The rest of the Divinitaries left alive screamed at Nigun. Then, soon enough, the entire magical garrison joined in too. Nigun looked at them, then built up a conviction to yell.

"DOMINION AUTHORITY! USE HOLY SMITE UPON THEM! DESTROY THESE FOOLS WHICH WOULD OPPOSE US!" He yelled. One could feel the very hope tangible within that breath.

The Scepter within [Dominion Authority]'s hand shattered, encircling it before disappearing into a large rune circle floating above Neph and the twins.

"Retreat" Neph told them.

"But-!" They objected.

"Now."

The twins flew backwards, taking Gazef with them via [Telekinesis].

A moment later, searing light poured down onto Neph. It was blinding. His world erupted into blinding white. It lasted for quite a while. He could feel the very faintest of pain on his entire body. His magical resistance was extremely high after all.

"So this is pain." Neph said, unmoved.

 _NO WAY. HOW COULD THIS... HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE? WHAT MANNER OF POWER DO THEY POSSESS?!_

Nigun screamed, not in his head, but within his soul. His men were now frantically casting spells at Neph, who shrugged them off with [Dying Empress].

"HOW DARE YOU!"

"[Density Fire]!"

"[Solid Lightning]!"

The twins casted their signature spells at the magical garrison. Verdandi's [Solid Lightning] shattered nine to ten men on the left side. Diyandi's [Density Fire], a spell which combined the aspects of Earth and Fire into one, killed another ten men on the right. The [Density Fire] spread, threatening the rest of the garrison. [Density Fire], combining Earth and Fire, gave fire mass as it grew larger. Indeed, as the men were burned down, the fire gained enough weight to crack the ground it was on.

 _WHAT IS HAPPENING?! WHAT IS THIS PANDEMONIUM?!_

Nigun screamed internally again, losing all faith and reasoning.

Then, as if a final strike was due, a voice as cold as the grim reaper's breath cut through the commotion. All eyes were on this man with a white horned mask resembling a mouthless lion.

"Impulse Blade: [Hundred Flicker Blade]"

The man, Nephilentines, held his sword as it were a sheathed Katana. Then, with a single flick that no one saved the twins, and perhaps Gazef could catch, re-sheathe it.

[Dominion Authority] Shattered into glass fragments. Those glass fragments then became white dust. Then the dust disappeared into light.

Gazef was awed. This man, with a stroke of the blade, shattered an Angel he could never have hoped to even nick. His astonishment was broken by a single loud thud.

Nigun fell to his knees.

He spoke. In a broken tone. A tone which signified that a man's will to live, his soul, was shattered.

"...How..."

"Stand down, you two." Neph ordered. The twins were readying their weapons to end Nigun in an instant. They heeded their master. Hearing this, Nigun snapped out of his trance.

"Nephilentines! No! LORD NEPHILENTINES!"

"PLEASE! IF YOU WOULD SPARE MY LIFE, I WOULD GRANT YOU ANYTHING YOU WISH! I HOLD A HIGH POSITION WITHIN MY COUNTRY! THEY WOULD PAY YOU WELL TO GIVE ME BACK!" Nigun yelled. The final hopes of his contained within those words. His subordinates now doing the same: Begging for their lives.

Neph looked Gazef in the eye.

"So?"

"Your choice." He said, a faint smile on his face.

"I do not care for money. But what I do care about, are the lives of the innocent. Those without power. The only ones who should use power, should be ready to die. I am ready to die, but you sure seem don't." As Neph said this, the twins grasped his hands tightly as he said "die".

"You reap what you sow. For attacking defenseless civilians, your lives are forfeit." Neph couldn't believe he was saying these things. He was cold, and only cared for his close ones.

 _I guess Viqtoria did have a huge effect on me._

Neph took one step forward. The magical garrison started running.

Neph pointed [Dying Empress] at Verdandi, and she understood.

"Imbue: [Solid Lightning]" She spoke, a small mist forming on the blade, if one listened close enough, one could hear billions of cracking sounds, both a mix of thunder crackles and ice cracks.

Nephilentines took one step forward, and in a grand arc attacked.

"Grand Edge: [Minotaur Span]" He spoke, utilizing an attack that was overkill for these enemies.

The whip blade [Dying Empress] drew an arc, long and wide. It was graceful in its movement. It paid no mind to the flesh it encountered. The imbuement made it so it did not need to.

And thus, every man on running towards the horizon, was shattered by a [Solid Lightning] imbued [Dying Empress].


	6. CH4: Mythical Beast

The pieces of Nigun and the rest of the scripture crumbled under the setting sun. Fitting, that a military unit based on the sun would fall as it sets. Gazef saw this as a serene peace. Behind him, the villagers all were cheering for the new heroes that saved them. Pleas and praise floated all around.

Neph and the twins simply gathered close and seemed to be discussing something.

 _Who is this man? Why does he hold such power?_

Gazef wanted to say something to the three, but it seemed like they were in an intense discussion about the forces they just faced.

But then this discussion was cut short by someone running through the crowd which was chanting praises of the Angels and the Hero to the high heavens.

"Help!- Please Help!"

A man ran towards Gazef. The man clutched Gazef's arms as if holding on to the vestiges of sanity. Tears were in the man's eyes.

"Calm down, sir. What do you need help with?" Gazef answered in a cautious tone, hoping to calm the man down. Nephilentines, as Gazef learned his name, moved closer to the panicked man. So did the twin Angels.

"Please! M-my daughters! The men who initiated this attack chased them off into the forest! Please find them, I beg of you!" The man was clearing sobbing now. He kneeled down to earth towards Neph and the twins.

"I see. Al-" Neph was interrupted.

"They are in danger! They might run into that mythical beast and be killed or worse!" The man interjected. The mention of a mythical beast intrigued Neph.

 _What? This sounds interesting. I was hoping to just send Verdandi or Diyandi but it seems there's something that warrants my attention. Well, sending eiher one of them alone is a bad idea if there are other players present. I can trust their [Sephirothic Fruit] but I don't want to resort to that._

Neph thought.

"I understand. We'll look for them. What are their names? And do you have something which belongs to them?" Neph asked, trying to sound as kind as possible.

"Y-yes! Their names are Enri and Nemu. Enri Emmot and Nemu Emmot! Here, this is a handkerchief that Enri owned..." The man bowed deeply and handed a small, white handkerchief to Neph, who took it and gave it to Diyandi.

"You know what to do." Neph said. He then motioned for Gazef to speak in private, a few paces away from the crowd who was watching this scene and the twins. Diyandi began her searching spell using the handkerchief as a lure. When they got an appropriate distance away from the populace, Neph was the first to speak.

"So what's this mythical beast that the man mentioned?" Neph questioned, he could see that he spoke just early enough that the question interrupted Gazef's train of thought.

"It's a centuries old creature that inhabits this part of the forest closest to the village. There are rumors and murmurs that if you were to approach it or provoke it, you would be slaughtered. It is said to have immense strength and wisdom, and is as such referred to as The Wise King Of The Forest". Gazef said. The point about immense strength was sort of humorous to him, considering what he just witnessed.

"I see. I understand, we will begin to head ou-"

"Nephilentines-sama! I would like to have a word with you afterwards. And I'm sure most of the villagers do too." Gazef interjected.

Neph nodded.

 _Huh, me and the twins speak in an English based manner but the inhabitants of this world uses Japanese style honorifics._

"Diyandi, how is the search going?"

"[Heartseeker] is closing in on their location. It's starting to give visual feedback, my Lord." She replied to Neph.

[Heartseeker] was a spell that tracked a target's emotions and body heat. It worked by registering something which belonged to the target as a "signature" and then searching for this same signature within the bounds of its area of search. This are being equal to however much energy one pours into the spell. Being a mere tier 4 spell it did not have that many uses, but it seems to be doing the job here fine.

"We have a location on them my Lord!" Diyandi shouted. Neph looked at Verdandi and Diyandi seeing they still had their [True Manifest Wings] out, realized he was the odd one.

"Gazef, we will return shortly with the children." Neph said this, and as he spoke the words children, looked at the father of the two girls.

Gazef nodded.

"Please, be on your way" He said, with a smile.

"Aspect of The Arch Devil: [Fallen Heathen Wings]" Neph cast the spell he used earlier. The same wings appeared on his back, whose feather looked like fingers and whose resting position looked like a prayer clasp.

"Let's go!"

And thus they soared into the forest, in search of the lost.

* * *

She ran. She ran with all of her might. But she knew something was wrong. So she hid. Her little sister sobbing quietly as they held their breath for dear life.

 _Please!_

"Come on out, little girls! It'll only hurt for a bit!" The pursuers yelled, his voice echoing throughout the forest.

Enri desperately clasped her hands to her mouth and remained motionless, Nemu, was trying to do the same. They could see the teardrops forming a puddle.

 _Oh Gods! I beg of you! Please help us!_

Enri felt a warmth on her left side. She knew what had happened. She tried to hold it in. The pain, was growing and so did the red. Nemu was also hurt, but not to the extent as she did.

Just then, all sounds stopped. The footsteps seemed to stop.

 _Huh?_

Enri wanted desperately to see if the coast was clear. To get her sister to safety.

 _Should I? Should I not? If they aren't there, can I make a break for it with Nemu? I can cause a distraction for her if all else fails._

Enri looked at Nemu. Her sister looked at her back, wide eyed. Enri patted Nemu on the head, and smiled. Then, with her resolve made, she raised her head up to look around.

There was nothing. No one in sight.

 _Huh?_

Then, a FWING sound occurred behind Enri, she turned around to see the left side of her vision was black.

 _Huh!?_

It was then, that she realized she had been struck by something thrown, or possibly fired, causing her eye to bleed. She mustered her strength to smile and give Nemu the "silence" sign with her index finger and then, with all her might, screamed in pain.

"HYGGAAAA! Mm-My-My EYE!" She fell out of the bush.

"HAHA, FOUND YOU!" A voice rang out, three men circled her instantly. Enri turned to look Nemu, who was in the bush clasping her mouth closed, crying even more now, one last time.

 _Goodbye, sister. I love you._

"No! Please don't!" She yelled as the men were readying the spells which would have ended her life. But then, they stopped. They all stopped. That moment seemed like eternity.

Enri was shocked. The heads of the men fell to the ground. Two Angels appeared before her. Enri remembered the Angels attacking the village, and her sense of safety was shattered once again. She panicked.

"No! Get away!" She yelled.

"Nemu! Run!"

Hearing her sister's command, Nemu bolted as fast as she could on her little legs towards the direction they came from, the direction of home, the direction of the village. But Nemu hit a wall. Something invisible blocked her. A puff of faint magenta mist, and a man in a ornate suit of armor appeared. He wore a mask which resembled a mouthless lion, which concealed his entire face.

 _He's not an Angel!_

"Mister! Please help my sister, she's being attacked by two Angels!" Nemu pleaded to the man. He chuckled, which sent palpitating nerves down Nemu's spine.

 _Did I make a mistake? I'm so sorry sister!_

"It's alright. They are with me." Neph said to the little girl. He was hugging her to reassure her, but he let go and she ran towards Enri's location. Neph followed as well.

"Lord Nephilentines, the one called Enri appeared to be injured." Verdandi stated.

Neph looked at the scene. The little sister hugging her older sister as she was wounded mortally. This reminded Neph of a certain incident.

* * *

"Diyandi! Diyandi!" Verdandi cried as she clutched Diyandi's body. Diyandi was bleeding profusely from her missing left arm. It looked to be ripped clean off its joint, it was a horrifying wound for two children who appeared to be six.

"Lord Nephilentines! Lady Alekszara! Where are you!" Verdandi cried desperately. There were visible tears on her face. She ran, and ran as fast as she could, in the direction of their creators. Her small frame mustering up all of the strength that it could.

Neph and Viqtoria appeared next to Verdandi via teleportation, and Viqtoria took Diyandi's body from Verdandi.

"What happened!?" Viqtoria snapped, her avatar Alekszara fuming with rage. Neph could not blame her, he felt the same. Neph felt like we wanted to rip the heads of those responsible and obliterate the bodies. No, he wanted to burn the souls of their loved ones as well. Viqtoria's rage seemed more tangible than his. It was a mother's unending wrath.

"We were retrieving the items as you asked, but unknown individuals appeared and attacked us. They sliced off Diyandi's left arm and left with the items!" Verdandi appeared to be barely holding herself together. She was bawling with both eyes, her hands clasping her face in a desperate attempt to stop these emotions.

Neph stayed silent and stood by. His anger was of a momentous proportion. It could dwarf stars. He could see Alekszara was cluthing the twins too, and Alekszara was healing Diyandi's arm, as at that time, the twins had not had any major magical abilities yet. They weren't assigned so. No. They did not learned so yet. Right now, if one were to see Verdandi and Diyandi, they would appear as six year olds with mismatched eyes.

Soon after, Alekszara finished healing Diyandi's arm. Verdandi was holding Diyandi, and they were both sobbing.

Neph and Alekszara took a couple paces away, as to discuss privately, as the tension in this situation was too tangible.

"So lifelike, aren't they?" Neph asked. The change of topic let off a bit of steam from the both of them. He watched as Verdandi and Diyandi slowly calmed down.

"Yes, this must be the [Grand Soul Stones] they were created from's effects. That of [Artificial Eden]. I hear it is a state of the art Artificial Intelligence that is powering [Artificial Eden], created by utilizing digitized neural pathways." Zara replied.

"I thought it was an AI too. But I never thought that they possess growing bodies as well. The depth of their... emotions. They really are our children." Neph said, he had crossed his arms, but his anger was visible from the way he gripped himself on the biceps, almost cracking the white armor he was adorned in. Seeing that, Zara put a hand on his chest.

"Don't tell me you're moved. You've always been cold towards people you don't know." Zara said, a mischievous smile appeared on her face. At this point, she was a bit calmed down.

"They're different, we made them." Neph said, but he could still see that Zara held that mischievous smile.

"Well, maybe we could make children right now..." Zara said seductively.

"You tease. You know what we have to do now right?" Neph said affirmatively. They both looked at the twins, and saw Verdandi managed to make Diyandi smile again.

"Of course, we have to hunt down the players who would seek to hurt our family."

Neph nodded.

"They would pay dearly, love. There will be a reckoning."

They both looked towards the twins they had made. Verdandi was made by Neph. Diyandi was Alekszara's creation. It just so happens that Verdandi was set to be the younger one, even thought she was finished first. The two lovers saw their would be children smiling at each other, playing with their small amounts of developing magic so fickle that one could swear a candlelight would outshine them both.

* * *

That was a long time ago. How Neph had missed those days when his family that they built was still there. He looked at Verdandi and Diyandi now, and he could see the former resembled a twenty year old, and Diandi a twenty one year old. Neph himself was twenty three. It's sort of uncomfortable to have daughters nearly your age.

 _Come to think of it, they're supposed to be immortal as well. I wonder when they'll stop aging?_

"Heal her." Neph said.

In response, Diyandi casted a spell.

"[Flame Of Reincarnation]"

This was a 6th tier spell that produced a green flame. That flame, had no heat, but was imbued with the properties of earth herbs and plants, another spell fusing Fire and Earth. The fusion of herbs and plants gave it very good healing abilities, as well as the fire itself cauterizing any wound, even if it did not emit heat. There were no visible scarring afterwards too, for some odd reason. The fire made sounds like bustling leaves, and indeed, looked as if it was a fire's silhouette constructed with leaves.

Diyandi held out the fire to Enri's left abdomen, where it began to consume the wound, closing it up and rebuilding tissue and bone. The color returned to her. Then the hope.

Enri got up and hugged Nemu with all her might, and they both cried. Neph couldn't resist the overflowing nostalgia that came from this scene.

"T-thank you!" Enri said, bowing to the three and Nemu followed suit. Verdandi and Diyandi smiled at them, which put them at ease.

"Alright, I think it's time for us to return to the village." Neph said. He readied his Aspect Of The Arch Devil: [Fallen Heathen Wings].

"You two, carry them, we'll make it faster."

""Yes my Lord!"" The twins responded again in sync.

They moved behind the sisters. Verandi behind Nemu, Diyandi behind Enri. Then the Angels lifted up the farm girls in a bridal carry style, and on Neph's signal, they... did not fly.

"Something is coming." Neph said. He signaled the twins to get into a defensive stance, and they put the sisters behind them. Neph stood in front, and withdrew his [Dying Empress] from the inventory again.

They could hear footsteps that would shake the earth coming towards them.

"Huh? Is this..." Neph said. The twins wanted to ask him what he thought but he silenced them.

He waited for the footsteps to come closer, and he heard a voice.

"What is all this racket going on in my Forest?! Disturb my sleep!?" The voice said. Neph had sense that it was a beast type being.

 _This must be the mythical beast I heard about. Time to see what it is._

Soon enough, he could see two large, black eyes looking at him.

 _Wait a minute_

It came closer, and Neph could see fur

 _Wait, what_

It came in front of them, and he could see that it was

 _This is the mythical beast!? It's just a hamster._

Indeed, it was a giant hamster. In terms of size, it was larger than the combined body masses of Neph and the Gemini twins as well. The tail was a strange snake, but other than that, it's just a hamster.

"I see, you are the warrior who was causing the racket. For disturbing my slumber, PREPARE TO DIE!" It spoke.

It took every single developed muscles of Neph's Arch Devil body tensing up to not laugh. Neph looked at the twins.

 _Wait, are you really on guard against that!?_

He saw his servants retreating. He knew they knew that the creature was a low level, but they wanted to keep the sisters safe. The Emmot sisters seem completely terrified of the creature. Soon enough, they started crying again.

"Why are you standing around? This is a fight to the death! That it is!" It spoke again. It moved its front claws to ready for battle.

"I apologize, but I just thought you were cute." Neph spoke the truth. He always had a soft spot for hamsters, even though he was never good at taking care of them.

"Haaaa? Are you insulting my being?! That you are?" It spoke again, its body writhing in anger.

 _Oh man it even jiggles. If only I can laugh right now. I gotta keep my cool._

"I have a proposition for you. Become my pet, and I will spare your life." Neph said, still holding back laughter. At the mention of "pet" the twins looked at the hamster with jealousy in their eyes.

"YOU DARE!?" The mythical beastly hamster launched its tail at Neph, who held out [Dying Empress] to block. He did not extend the segments of [Dying Empress] as to not kill the poor guy out right, but just simply block.

"Your defense is impressive, that it is."

Neph said.

 _Sigh, I guess I'll just overwhelm._

Neph pointed out his blade and unleashed a aura of energy towards the beast. The beast, who felt this power overwhelming, had every single hair on its body stand on end and collapse again, in a cascading manner as if someone was combing it. Neph chuckled under his breath.

"I surrender! Please accept my vow of loyalty! That I do offer!" It spoke, tears coming from its large beaded eyes.

"Well, that was easy." Neph said.

"Amazing!"

"As expected of Lord Neph, to be able to tame a being like this!" The twins showered him with praise.

 _Guys... It's just a hamster._

* * *

"Alright, you lot, enough resting, we have to help the villagers restore the damage for now!" Gazef shouted towards his men. They were still lazing about after being healed by the Twin Angels, but nevertheless, they got up and started moving about. Doing tasks such as clearing out rubbles and putting out fires. They were still within the barrier that the Angel called Diyandi had created, but Gazef did not want to risk leaving its protection yet.

 _Who are these people wielding powers of God?_

Just then, Gazef heard a soft ruffle of grass, and saw a furry creature landing behind him. One look, and Gazef was on full alert. He was healed but he was in no condition to fight, his mental conditions not for it right now.

"Alert! The Wise King Of The Forest appeared!" He yelled, preparing his sword in a battle stance.

"How?!" Many people cried out.

"Wait! Wait! Everyone!" Neph yelled and stepped forward from behind the creature.

"It's alright. I have tamed this beast, he will not do you all harm."

A simultaneous _HUHHHH?_ Erupted from the village.

"It is as my master says, that it is. I promise I will not harm you all, that I do." It spoke. Everyone repeated heir _HUHHHH?_ As it finished.

Gazef was bewildered.

 _What in manner of-_

Then another set of ruffled grass sounds. The Twin Angels landed, and within their arms, were the two missing village daughters.

"Enri! Nemu!" The father who requested their safety ran through the crowd again, they were all sobbing in a emotion filled reunion. The villagers who saw this applauded the three who had produced so many miracles to them in such a short time. Praises sang out of the Warrior Of White and the Dual Twin Angels.

Neph paid no heed to this. He let the twins handle the crowd. He turned to Gazef, who seemed to be conversing with someone. As he approached, Gazef noticed and introduced the man.

"Greetings, Nephilentines-sama, this is chief of Carne Village. We were just discussing your achievements today." Neph extended a hand, and the Village Chief took it.

"I don't like being in crowds, is there another place where we can talk?" Neph said bluntly.

"Well, we can come to my residence. I'll have my wife prepare tea." The Chief said.

"Alright" Neph agreed, and the three men walked towards the chief's house. The Twins, seeing this, also followed, but before they left the crowd, Diyandi flew up high and using a basic ability of hers, [Flame Manipulation], gathered all of the fire burning around the village and condensed it into a ball high in the sky. Verdandi then fired a tier 7 version of [Solid Lightning] at it, putting out the flames and the influx of heat shattered the [Solid Lightning] into snow, raining down on Carne Village. Another roar of applause erupted again, as the Twins departed from the crowds.


	7. AN, Character Sheets: The Twins

**A/N: Hello guys! It's me again. At this point, the changes to the story are evident, as you can probably tell. The next few couple arcs will be even more different than the novel. I hope you'll stick around for the ride :) And I also intend to create new arcs in place of ones that can't happen because of not having Nazarick here or its members. At the current moment, I believe we're around beginning of Volume 2 of the novels in terms of progression. And again, thanks for reading!**

 **Here are two character sheets to make up for not having one last chapters. These are Verdandi and Diyandi, the Gemini Twins. It is because they are twins that I did not want to release them separately.**

Name: **Diyandi Gemini**

Other Names: **Aurum Sister, "The older one" (by Neph and Zara), She Of The Beginning.**

Height: **166cm**

Race: **Edenborn**

Guild: **Skyaezaeir**

Karma: **+100**

Level Distribution:

\- Racial Levels:

 **Soulstone Being (10)**

 **Edenborn (10)**

 **Chimera Angel (5)**

 **Cherubim (10)**

\- Job Levels:

 **Bowmaster (10)**

 **Saint of The Stringed Arch (5)**

 **Fire Manipulator (10)**

 **Earth Manipulator (10)**

 **Avatar Of The Dancing Heat (5)**

 **Avatar Of The Titanic Terra (5)**

 **High Avatar (5)**

 **Elemental Lord (10)**

 **Soulmaster (5)** **For a Total of 100 racial and job classes.**

* * *

Name: **Verdandi Gemini**

Other Names: **Argentium Sister, "The younger one" (by Neph and Zara), Her Of The End.**

Height: **166cm**

Race: **Edenborn**

Guild: **Skyaezaeir**

Karma: **-100**

Level Distribution:

\- Racial Levels:

 **Soulstone Being (10)**

 **Edenborn (10)**

 **Chimera Angel (5)**

 **Cherubim (10)**

\- Job Levels:

 **Sword Saint (10)**

 **Asura (5)**

 **Lightning Manipulator (10)**

 **Ice Manipulator (10)**

 **Avatar Of The Crackling Light (5)**

 **Avatar Of The Frostbitten Waters (5)**

 **High Avatar (5)**

 **Elemental Lord (10)**

 **Fateweaver (5) For a Total of 100 racial and job classes.**

Description: The Gemini Twins are created from the drops of a world class boss, the Grand Soul Stones. This boss itself was part of a 150 player raid, and it's one of the times where the Skyaezaeir duo Neph and Zara had to join a raiding expedition. Each player who defeated the boss had a chance of receiving the stones, which were worth approximately 10 billion gold on the YGGDRASIL market as a result of it containing a advanced Artificial Intelligence built from digitized neural cortexes. This lets owners create extremely lifelike NPC's, and as such, were pretty popular for make-believe girlfriends and maids (No matter what century it is there will always be that sort of people).

Their Racial Level of Edenborn is what allows them to have growing bodies in game, a special class for creations based off the Grand Soul Stone. The other racial classes are simply their ascension into Angels, but as they are not born Angels, they are Chimera Angels. If they are allowed to consume energies of beings they've slain, they would gain their energy as their own, and one of the consumee's abilities. This does mean that yes, they were both fed a Seraphim Class player to gain Angelic energy to allow them to use [True Manifest Wings], which are the Seraphim level wings.

They take after their parents in Job Levels. Diyandi, created by Alekszara, takes after her bow skills, while Verdandi, made by Nephilentines, took after him in sword style. They both however, take after their mother in Elementalism. Neph and Zara did argue about this slightly, but he eventually conceded as she said "I'm the mother here". Thus, they are split element versions of their mother's Elemental Conflux.

To emphasize the twin's well, twinness, Neph and Zara decided to make the signature spells of the twins both tier 8. These signature spells of course being [Density Fire] and [Solid Lightning]. They also share fortune telling classes, Soulmaster and Fateweaver.


	8. CH5: Table Talk

The Chief had asked Gazef and Neph to wait outside for a moment, and rushed back in. Through the walls, the two men could hear him shouting for her to come out of her hiding place. At this note, Gazef and Neph looked at each other with a look that was hard to describe. It was a mix of "thank goodness" and "she's smart to hide", somewhere along the lines of worry for her fate. The eyes of the two men lightened as they heard her crying to her husband and her thanks to the Gods, for keeping her safe.

"Me too, my dear." They could hear. A strange sense of satisfaction came over the Warrior In White and the Kingdom's Strongest. They also heard him ask her to make tea, and what seemed to be the grinding of furniture on the ground as the Chief prepared his room for the two guests. Seeing this they knew they would wait a while. The lips of two men parted, but Neph was the first to speak.

"So how did you recognize that mythical beast? And what did you call it?" Neph asked.

"It's called The Wise King Of The Forest, a monster said to be centuries old." Gazef paused, in his eyes Neph could see some nostalgia of better times.

"As for how I recognized it, I've encountered it before. In my younger days, I've spent time lost in soul searching. Born a commoner, I did not know what direction to take my life. I did not want to complexity and machinations of becoming a noble through hard work, and all the strings and chains that bind when one does become one. And thus, I chose the sword. I travelled around the kingdom, and dueled against many who would accept. Eventually, I started travelling around, helping fending off bandits in frontier villages like the one I was born in. That led me down the path of the mercenary." Gazef paused.

There was a commotion inside the house. Seemed like someone had dropped a cup made of wood or so, and was frantically washing it off with more water.

"I met the beast when I heard stories of it from my mercenary bands. Thus, when no one else could beat me, I traveled to it, reasoning that a beast called The Wise King Of The Forest would be a challenge. It was when, after days of searching within that forest, the Forest Of Tob, that it encountered me while I was sword swinging for practice. It seemed to be on the hunt for food or so...

* * *

"What are you doing in my domain? That you are?" The beast spoke to Gazef.

"I was looking for you." Gazef responded. At this, the beast launched an attack with its tail, the viper on the end of it readying to inject Gazef with the ends of his life.

Leaping to the side, Gazef held his sword broadside out in such an angle that the tail barely grazed him.

"Exceptional defense, that it is. For that, I commend you. If you leave, I will not give chase, that I do promise." The beast spoke, this time in a more friendly tone.

"Perhaps. But I came in search of strength. Will you not duel with me for a bit?" Gazef interjected.

"Oh? A challenge? But if I go all out you might die, that you might."

"Humor me." Gazef responded.

It is at this, that man and beast lunged towards each other. Gazef received numerous scratch marks, and almost received a fatal wound if it were not for his heightened senses in a life or death situation. The beast itself, perhaps it was going easy on Gazef, only used it tail attack, and its claws to defend.

"Martial Art: [Cleaving Blow]!" Gazef shouted. This attack was blocked by the hard scales of the beast's tail.

"Tough as steel!" Gazef yelled, his eyes wide in surprise.

"You are fairly good, that you are." The beast spoke. There was no malice. It was more of respect. A recognition of strength. Before Gazef could speak again, it spoke.

"But I think this is as far as you go. You are slowing down, and through this battle, I've come to respect you. As such, I do not want to kill you, that I do not." It spoke.

This compassion shocked Gazef. This mythical beast that was said to slaughter men, to him, did fit the title of The Wise King Of The Forest. Gazef dropped his guard, and let his sword down to his sides. The beast, lowered its tail to the ground, its fur lowered from a standing position. It seemed to relax as well.

"I thank you, for your generosity in indulging my selfish request." Gazef said this and bowed deeply. The beast merely nodded, then turned the way it came. Seeing this, Gazef also turned the way he came, and exited the forest with a respect for things not of human nature.

* * *

Perhaps it was that respect, that allowed Gazef to not be constantly on guard against Neph, even though he did wear a mask. And the two Angels who accompanied this man.

"I see, that's quite the story, my friend." Neph spoke. At the mention of friend, Gazef seemed to smile.

The door opened, and the Chief spoke out to the both of them.

"I apologize for the wait. Please forgive me!" The Chief spoke in a panicked manner and bowed.

"It's quite alright"

"You're ok"

These two reassurrance were spoken in unison from the two waiting men. The Chief relaxed a little and spoke.

"T-then please, come in!" He was still quite nervous after all.

Gazef headed in first. Then, before Neph could step through the threshold of the doors, the twins landed behind him.

""Lord Neph?"" They asked.

"I'll be fine, it's just a conversation. You two can wait out here for a bit." Neph said while turning to them. He pat them both on the head, and that seemed to reassure the two, then turned back and walked inside.

Inside, there seemed to be a round table with seats for four. Gazef, the Village Chief, and his wife semed to already be seated. Neph pulled out the remaining seat next to Gazef. There was a short silence, before the village chief stood up and bowed to the two men sitting opposite him.

"From the bottom of our hearts, all the people in this village, I thank you Gazef Stronof-sama and Nephilentines-sama for aiding us!" He kept his bowing posture as he yelled this. His wife seemed imitate this action as well, albeit a bit slower due to her age.

Stunned, Neph turned to Gazef, who was already looking at him. Neph nodded, and Gazef spoke.

"It's quite alright, I am merely doing my job as the Kingdom's Warrior Captain. And I am also thankful to Nephilentines-sama as well, it is by chance of fate that he would save us from a monster we cannot defeat." Gazef spoke this, and also bowed to Neph.

"I... Uh, it's quite alright. Please, be seated." At this, the three others in the room resumed their seats.

"Also, there is no need to use –sama for me. Both of you are my seniors, it makes me uncomfortable." Neph said. He took off his mask and placed it on the table. The eyes of the three people in the room lit up as they beheld their saviour's face. It was a handsome face, albeit with features stopping just before they can be described as "sharp". He had a visage of a twenty three year old, and it is at that they understood what he meant by him saying they were his seniors.

"Just Neph will be fine for me, Nephilentines is a long name after all." Neph spoke, raising his onyx black eyes from the mask he placed down to look at the eyes of the three.

"But! To refer to our hero Neph-sama in such a rude way, we can not stand unceremony after all you've done for us!" The Chief stood up again. His wife pulled his arms to sit down a couple of times before he finally stood back down.

"It's alright. I insist." Neph said, this time he felt the Chief finally giving up.

To cut the silence that resulted in the room afterwards, Neph asked a question.

"How many casualties were there?"

"There was less than expected. We still have approximately three fourths of the village left alive, thanks to the Warrior Captain's efforts in coming here. I am deeply thankful to say there were no casualties to the children or those not quite yet adults. Thank you, Neph-dono." The Village Chief said, this time almost tearing up.

"There were also much less losses to my men as well, I still have approximately sixty percent of my forces. I had expected us to be completely wiped out. Like the Village Chief, I, from the depths of my heart, offer you my greatest thanks for the healing your Angels provided, Neph-dono." Gazef spoke to Neph, after spending a bit moving his restored arm around.

"Well, I do not expect my services to be unpaid." Neph said coldly. There was a wry smile on Gazef and the Chief's face.

"Well, we can pay you most of the village's savings if we pooled them." The Chief spoke.

"I'll also throw in a large sum, for saving the lives of so many people." Gazef added.

"Well, it's quite alright. I do not ask for much, just what you are willing to pay without hurting yourselves or completely become incapable with debt." Neph responded.

 _It'll be weird of me to kill these people that I saved from Angels by taxing them to death._

"But-"

"I also don't know how much currency is worth here. I apologize for my incompetence." He added.

"What?! Could it be that Neph-dono is not from around these countries?" The Village Chief asked, he and Gazef seemed surprised as well.

"How could this be? Neph-dono? You wield such mighty powers yet do not know a single thing of the current world." Gazef also questioned.

"I am from a far away land. So far in fact, that you can say one can travel their whole life without even coming close to seeing it. I fell asleep upon next to a pond with the twins Verdandi and Diyandi, and woke up transported here. Thus, I have no idea where I am, or what to do." Neph spoke the truth. The Chief and Gazef seemed to be quite stunned. Their eyes were in disbelief as to how something so unnatural could occur to someone who wielded so much power.

"Could it be that you are from the lands where the Eight Greed Kings and the Six Gods originated from?" Gazef asked. Neph looked at him confused, and Gazef was even more surprised.

"Who are they?"

"They are said to be beings of immense power, and controlled the world centuries ago. First came the Six Gods, and then the Eight Greed Kings." The Chief spoke, recalling as much as he can. Gazef and the Chief still had a perplexed look on their face, but rationaling Neph's power out as a Greed King or God seemed to calm them down.

 _Interesting. Perhaps there are other players here as well, but from their speech, it seemed like they aren't here anymore. I'll still need to be careful, but now I at least have room to work with. I'll have to investigate further._

Neph reach his hand into a pocket dimension, and picked out a single gold coin. This coin was a coin from after the Valkyrie's Downfall update. Neph did not have the old coins, as they had spent it all on creating the Gemini Twins, and as such, only possess the coins which had a woman's face on one side, and a emblem of the YGGDRASIL tree on the other. However, having only one type of coin did not mean Neph had a limited supply of it. After the Gemini Twins and the Skyaezaeir duo were geared out, the gold just stockpiled. The lack of a guild base also saved them immensely on expenses. Neph placed the gold coin on the table.

"This is!" The Chief exclaimed. He seemed to hesitate to pick it up. He looked at Neph and Neph merely nodded. Then, the old man tenderly picked up the coin to examine it.

 _Now that I look at him closer, he's quite old. I would say he's double Gazef's age actually. His wife also seems to be around the same age. From the looks of their hands and their skin, they seemed to be farmers for most of their lives._

"Neph-dono, is that a coin from where you are from?" Gazef asked.

"Yes, but I am not sure if it has any worth here..." He replied to Gazef.

"Well,"

Gazef motioned for the Village Chief to let him see the coin.

"It looks to be about double the thickness of a normal gold coin around here,"

He moved his hands up and down.

"Feels like double the weight as well." Gazef finished his inspection.

"The artwork on it is extremely intricate, seemingly created by years of craft, that alone would increase it's value. If what Gazef-sama says is true, then that coin, is worth 2 normal gold coins in pure weight. The artwork would probably increase it to five or six." The Village Chief added to the inspection.

"I see." Neph responded, his voice a bit quiet. The Chief put the coin back down on the table in front of Neph carefully, as to not damage it or incur Neph's wrath. Neph, on the other hand, simply picked it back up and chucked it back into the pocket dimension of his inventory.

 _So it appears I am worth approximately six times at the most of what I currently am. That's a gigantic number._

The room seem to fall a bit silent. Neph was in deep thoughts.

"Neph-dono, if you were wondering, those that attacked this village, the magic casters, are from the Slane Theocracy. They had been using illusion magic to disguise themselves as soldiers of the Baharuth Empire before you arrived to attempt to deceive me and my men. It was fortunate that I made it in time before there were major losses." Gazef spoke. This interrupted Neph's thoughts.

"I take it the Baharuth Empire and... Your Kingdom aren't allies?" Neph said. Gazef seemed to have a face that said "just as I expected".

"Yes. We, the Re-Estize Kingdom, engage in an annual war with the Baharuth Empire every year's end. The Slane Theocracy is a unaffiliated party, thought the Kingdom did have some relations of the alliance kind with them in the past, but that is long gone now. Them doing this is probably just their way of provoking the two nations to destroy each other." Neph could see Gazef cluthing his fist as he said this.

"I want to change the Kingdom. I want to make it better. Currently, it's being worn down by the Baharuth Empire. A few more wars and we will not be able to support ourselves. Mustering up soldiers is also costing us dearly in farmhands. That's why I've been sent around to try and protect these farming villages. We've lost so much." Gazef said bitterly.

"I apologize for the ramblings. You can probably tell I'm passionate about the country."

"No. I understand the beliefs and faith in one's home. It's perfectly alright. If a situation is dire, I'll lend you my help if you would like." Neph said. It's not all that different from what people in his old world would say or believe.

"You would do that!?" Gazef unexpectedly shouted. He also stood up, but he realized this a few seconds later and resumed sitting.

"I would like to hire you, if possible, Neph-dono..."

"I don't like being bound by strict contracts."

"I see..."

 _Oh man. I think I went a bit too harsh on that._

He looked around for a sheet of paper, and found one on Gazef.

"May I have a piece of that parchment?"

Gazef handed Neph a small scroll he had. It didn't seem to be important, as Gazef was easily willing to give it up. As Neph held it, he placed a hand over the center of the parchment, and then, a sigil appeared on the paper. It was a two sided sigil, one resembling an ornate wing of sorts, the other, something that if one looked close enough, would almost resemble a skull. After it finished materializing on the paper, Neph handed it back to Gazef.

"If you're ever in need of help, burn this. It will establish a connection to me, allowing you to speak to me, no matter the distance."

Gazef's eyes widened.

"Neph-dono! I-I thank you!" Gazef bowed deeply.

"There is, however, one condition." Neph spoke. He could see that the man who had felt thankfulness from the bottom of his heart listen intently.

"Keep us a secret. My power, and the two Angels outside. Limit information as possible. I don't want to attract too much attention. You can tell your King, I assume you serve one, but I would wish you not to."

Gazef seemed conflicted, but he inevitably caved and nodded.

"Gazef-sama!" Someone from out of breath shouted. Moments later, a the door opened to a loud bang. It was a soldier. He had the same sorts of equipment as Gazef's group, but Neph could see it was a new face around here.

"There has been a summons for you, Gazef-sama! This is an order from the King." The staggering man said. He hurriedly over to Gazef and presented a scroll. Reading through it, Gazef nodded and stood up.

"I have been summoned by the King, Neph-dono. Please forgive me, I must leave at once." Gazef bowed.

"It's quite alright." Neph reached out his hand. Seeing this, Gazef took it. They shook hands as the new soldier who delivered the letter look on in bewilderment.

Moments later, Gazef and his troops left under the falling sun in formation. The skies setting to a beautiful indigo, and the little lights on the horizons speckled all through out the atmosphere in a cascade of stars.

"Neph-dono, I believe the people are finish gathering the bodies for the funeral." The Village Chief spoke.

 _Oh! That's right! They did suffer losses. I wonder if they'll be okay?_

"I understand. I'll come back in the morning, as I still have a few questions." Neph said.

He walked out the door and signaled for the twins.

"Thank you for everything you've done for us today, Neph-dono!" The Village Chief shouted.

Walking away, Neph merely raised a hand to acknowledge the Chief before setting off with the two Angels he had company. Their destination: the very same pond that they appeared in this world in.


	9. CH6: Truth

The two parties set off to their respective destinations in an imperfect haste.

"Gazef-sama, who was that man? And who were those Angels?" The soldier who had delivered the King's message to Gazef asked. They rode in formation, but this man had broken it to ask the questions that only he had. Everyone else knew just who the man with the mask was, as well as the two Angels.

"That man..." Gazef drifted off into thought.

 _How should I answer this? Should I tell him about Neph-dono's strength? Well, he'd already seen the Angels accompanying Neph-dono outside, so it'd be useless to lie._

It was in that moment that Gazef knew how to describe Neph.

"That man... is a traveler. He is one who posseses strength greater than my own."

The soldier who asked the question had widenned eyes.

"You may have felt that the air was colder, or perhaps seen ice shards and cracked earth as you traveled to Carne Village in search of me..."

"Don't tell me-" The soldier blurted out he stopped himself as he felt Gazef wanted to continue.

"That man did that to our oponnents. In fact, if it were not for him, I, as well as most of the warriors you now see riding alongside you, would have perished. The two Angels accompanying him healed the wounds of everyone present."

Gazef felt like he could continue on, but he also felt that the newcomer had gotten the point.

"… Well"

"Our oponnent was the Sunlight Scripture from the Slane Theocracy. They attempted to decieve the villagers that the Baharuth Empire was attacking instead, but I'd have gotten there just in time to force them dispell their illusions. This arm..."

Gazef said, holding up his former severed forearm in a fist. The newcomer paid attention, as did the ones who already knew the story.

"This arm was lost to me when I attempted to defeat the Sunlight Scripture's leader. The Angels you saw restored it to me."

"Then, is it really wise to have such powerful beings roaming around? Should we not attempt to detain them and question them?" The newcomer asked the impossible. Gazef's band of troops all snickered simultaneously.

"Lad, you're asking the impossible. That man is stronger than I, and I've been called the epitome of strength in the Kingdom. I've never once believed I was, but today proved that I was right to not believe. In addition, the two Angels he had accompanying him held stronger power than I as well, I can feel the energy and wrath in their spells. They are essentially three of me. Can you defeat three of me?" Gazef asked the newcomer.

The newcomer had his head drooped low. Gazef could understand the newcomer's concerns.

"But worry not lad, I trust him. I trust that he would not harm the Kingdom." Gazef spoke, breaking the newcomer's sudden sadness.

"How can you say that?" He retorted.

"Because... He saved us. He could have easily whiped out my band of troops as well as the Scripture and taken the village hostage. But he chose not to. Granted, I admit, there could be more to him, but something tells me he's not evil, or as evil as we paint him to be." Gazef responded. In turn, the newcomer merely asked:

"And that something?"

"Well, lad. It's hard to describe. When he took off his mask for us to see his face, I saw a glint in his black onyx eyes. This glint... How should I put it."

Gazef paused for a moment.

"I've traveled around a lot. I was born in a frontier village. Those villages don't usually last long, they are weak and receive almost no support from the Kingdom regarding their safety. Thus, they are vulnerable. It would not be suprising to find one ransacked or burned down, and just as easily it would not be suprising to find pain in the ones that survive their village's destruction."

Gazef paused again. He stopped his horse, and everyone else followed suit.

"Some of those survivors join warrior bands like mine. And when I take them to patrol the frontier villages, and we come across the ruins of one, I can see the same glint in their eyes as I saw it in Neph-dono's eyes. It's the sort of emotion that signifies, 'this is home', and also 'this is lost to us'."

"So... you're saying that man, Neph-sama, is grieving. As if he lost someone here?" The newcomer spoke.

"Yes. I feel as though he's searching for a part of himself. And that he's too preocupied with this quest for salvation to do anything bad to the Kingdom, or any rulership for that matter." Gazef continued.

The soldier around the two conversed about Neph and the Angels as they traveled. They rode in this way for quite a bit before Gazef asked the newcomer.

"So how did you find me? And why did the king request such a hasty summons?"

"I merely followed your tracks, but granted, I set out almost two days after you left, as that's when we received the reports."

"The reports?" Gazef questioned.

"Yes. It seems the guards around the city found traces of a criminal organization's movements."

Gazef wondered what organization the man was talking about, and his eyes widened as he realized.

"We must hurry back!" Gazef shouted. He tugged on the reins of his horse tightly and sped up, and the band of warriors rode off to the Kingdom of Re-Estize.

* * *

"Disperse"

Neph spoke. The [Fallen Heathen Wings] on his back disappears to the command as Verdandi and Diyandi landed behind their master. They were now at the pond that they woke up in this morning.

 _Still seems to be the same as we left yesterday. Well, we have a lot of time before sunrise. I mean, the sun just set and all._

Neph didn't realize that the twins were kneeling. Recognizing this minor mistake, he hastily asked them to undo their worship. Verdandi, the silver sister with blue and purple eyes, and Diyandi, the golden sister with green and amber eyes, rose in unison.

 _Hmm. Should I test my abilities? I already know that I can use [Fallen Heathen Wings] as a spell, which means I'm still a Pure Thought Entity. Still... If this is all real now, how do I leave the body?_

Neph's class was the epitome of Wraith based classes. A Pure Thought Entity exists solely as thought, and does not have attributes regarding health or spirit health. Thus, they are in a constant state of immortality. The drawback, of course, is they cannot interact with the world without a medium, in other words, a body. Destruction of the body would do no harm to the Entity, but the Entity can only bring out seventy to eighty percent of their host body's potential. As such, this class was rarely used by most players. The reasoning being that it's pointless to pour resources into one body which was at most thirty percent weaker than normal. There are numerous other benefits, and drawbacks as well.

 _Well, for the time being, let's try to leave this body._

"Diyandi, I'm going to test if my abilities differ in this new world. I will leave this body, and share your body for a moment. Is this fine?"

Neph asked. He said "I will leave this body" but even he himself does not know if he can. This is terrifying to Neph, to Brian. This was equivalent to forcing a out of body experience on oneself, in other words, a death.

"O-Of course Lord N-Neph! You may share our bodies any time you would wish! You needn't ask my Lord!" Diyandi spoke. She was shaking for some reason, Neph could tell, and the reason became clearer as he notice her turning slightly red. She didn't blush like a normal person, rather, her ears get red. He looked at Verdandi to see her look at Diyandi with eyes of avarice.

…

 _Wait. Don't tell me they both have a crush on me just because Viqtoria and I made them?...?_

 _What. Come on guys, you're both like daughters to me. Not that I know what having daughters will be like but this is as close as I'll get I think._

Shunting these thoughts aside for the moment, Neph returned to the task at hand. He sighed, and then focused. Slowly, he could feel a weird sensation spread through him, starting from his spine to his entire body. This feeling was the same tickly sensation one would feel when one falls from a tall height. At the same time as this feeling, his vision moved forward, as if his eyes were cameras being pushed on a trolley.

Before he knew it, he was slumped on the ground, his Arch Devil body leaning against the log that he slept against earlier this morning.

 _Okay. So I left. This is weird. Everything feels so light._

"Is that what it feels like to be out of a body Lord Neph?" Verdandi questioned. Neph noticed she was looking at him. Well, at where he is, not necessarily at him. Neph also realized he's doing the equivalent of shouting in a normal body, that is, projecting his thoughts on to others. This was why Verdandi could hear him.

"Y-yes. The world becomes merely a painting..." Neph replied in projection. The next thoughts that came to his mind were muted to the twins, and it was equivalent to a normal body's "whisper".

 _Err... I hope she accepts that random excuse. That startled the crap out of me. Come to think of it, they can sense my presence, even if they cannot directly see me as pure thought._

"L-Lord Neph... I I am ready for you." Diyandi spoke, she sounded a bit nervous. Realizing he made her wait quite a bit, he stood up. Standing up alone was weird. It felt too fast, the ascent. In fact, everything felt too fast, like this whole thing was a fast forwarded video. He made his way behind Diyandi, and with his hand. Well, the sensations of a hand, but there was nothing there visibly as he was now wholly thought and had no visual or physical form, touched the back of Diyandi's neck.

Diyandi gasped. A white flash of light overcame Neph, and he was now in Diyandi's mindscape.

It was a lush, sunny world. No, lush would be an understatement. If one could imagine large mountains packed together and covered in flora, then that would be a close approximation. But perhaps, describing it as a vast picturescape vista would be more apt. Then again, ornate land would be a better description. Whatever the case was, it was a stunning sort of grand view Neph was looking at.

"Welcome, Lord Neph" Diyandi said with a smile. She was kneeling, which was strange to Neph, as in here, in her mindscape, she was the one and all, and as such, would not need to kneel.

"You may rise." Neph spoke. Then he turned to look around. The same sort of overflowing awe flowed within him again when he looked at the scenery present. He was now sort of jealous of her, having this majestic crown of a floral garden whenever she closed her eyes. Then, he noticed he had physicality in this world. He appeared in his Arch Devil body.

 _Oh! It's probably that I appear as how the owners of the mindscapes see me!_

"My Lord, it seems you possess the same abilities as before the transfer. And you don't seem any different in strength." Diyandi spoke to Neph.

Neph was still in thought. He took a few steps forward, careful not to tread upon the flowers. They were not real of course, but they were precious nonetheless, because they are the fruits of a daughter's mind. He kneeled over to look at a type of flower more scarce than the rest. Rather than scarce, uncommon was a more appropriate word. This type of flower was strewn in small amounts throughout the greenscape. Looking at the horizons, Neph confirmed this. The way these flowers were placed, and the way they glowed reminded him of stars and constellations.

 _It's beautiful._

"May I?"

"Of course, Lord Neph"

With these words as confirmation, Neph carefully plucked one of the particular flowers he was so curious about. It was a fragile little thing. It almost fell apart as soon as it was plucked, but Diyandi must have done something to it. This was her mind, after all.

It looked, like a mix of several flowers. It had the structure of a rose, but the petals of a lotus. At every intersection, between each petal, was a stem that led to a smaller flower, something akin to a single branch of baby's breath. Each single end glowing a glimmering turquoise.

The oddest part of the flower, aside from its unnatural structure, was that it was a semi-transparent blue. There appeared to be vein like shapes in the petals, but upon Neph's closer inspections, he noticed they were actually lightning, frozen in its shape. This, combined with its smaller baby's breath stems, made it look like a blue candle with fireflies around it.

"This is-"

"Yes, Lord Neph, these are Verdandi's [Solid Lightning] in flora form" Diyandi cut her master off.

 _I see. Well, they are sisters after all, it's not out of the ordinary to have tributes to one another._

Neph contemplated this while holding the flower. He stood up and let the flower fall from his hand, at which point it reconnected to the stem it was plucked from.

"My, this has been wonderful. You have a beautiful mindscape, Diyandi". Hearing this, she blushed. Neph took one more look at the landscape around. The yellow orange sun shining over the vast distance.

Neph raised his hand, and a door appeared next to him. Normally, the owner of a mind has some degree of influence on whether someone can leave their mind. Thus, because the door opened instantly, it was a testament to her loyalty to her Lord.

"Farewell, milord." Neph saw her bow as he stepped through the door.

Another flash of white light, and he was outside of her body. The same hypersensitive kinetic vision he felt before returned to him. As this was the second time, it wasn't as jarring as before. In fact, one could say that Neph was becoming accustomed to this feeling, albeit faster than one would acclimate to something else.

He made his way back to his body, and place his hand on the Arch Devil body's forehead.

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes again, was that the twins were bowing. Again, he let them relinquish this prostration. But... Neph noticed something.

Verdandi was pouting.

"What is it, Verda?" Neph asked.

She fidgeted, before answering in a high tone.

"Lord Neph, you can enter my mindscape as well!" She still wasn't looking him in the eye.

 _Oh man. I swore we set their ages to over ten thousand, but they act like five year olds. Well, if I counted the time from their creation to now, it would be only about 4 years of total game time._

Neph sighed.

"Oh alright." With a weak reply, Neph repeated the process he used to exit and enter Diyandi's body on Verandi's instead.

And yet another flash of white light, and he was in Verdandi's world.

As opposed to Diyandi's mindscape, Verandi's was a nightly one, one with more monotone colors. He was standing upon a glacier, who entire surface was covered in snow. Verdandi greeted him the same way Diyandi did, but this time, he let her decide on her own when to stop bowing.

"Welcome, Lord Neph".

He ignored this and walked forward, leaving his footprints in the snow. The glacier they were on was quite big, but not big enough that they could not reach the edges of it within a few minutes of walking. At this edge, Neph could see countless other glaciers floating above... Shimmering waters. The water was a dark blue, but it glowed. The water itself did not, but rather, something beneath it.

Neph heard a splashing sound, and looked at their source.

He saw spires. Towers, made of ice, strewn about throughout the mirror black sea as if they were ship buoys. And indeed, like these buoys, the tips of the spires glowed. Looking at the horizons again, the entire mindscape exhibited a surreal, silent kind of beauty. Something akin to looking at the skylines of cities from across a shore. Each tower a monument of serenity and sanctity. Each glacier, almost a place to call home.

Another splashing sound. This time, Neph did not miss what had caused it. Atop the spires, were lights. Specifically. Fire.

"Diyandi's [Density Fire]" Neph whispered to himself.

"It is as you say, milord."

The endless spires in the mindscape all had a [Density Fire] sitting atop it. And every now and then, a small chunk of this fire would fall from the greater mass, like a small droplet of water separating from the bigger goblet. Or, the melting wax falling from the flickering candlelight.

The fall was what made these splashing noises Neph heard every other moment. And it was these Fires which could not be put out by normal means that illuminated the sea. An ocean of dancing lights underneath a veil of ebony water, topped by buoys to glacial ships.

"You know. You and your sister both have quite the beautiful mindscapes."

"Thank you, Lord Neph. It is only because of you and Lady Alekszara that it is possible."

 _Ah. She mentioned Viqtoria's name... I..._

A bit pained, Neph signaled for an exit door. Like her sister, one opened immediately for her Lord.

He was now in his body again. He sat there. Contemplating.

 _They are full of unending love for me and her. Yet... Should I tell them what had happened? Why Viqtoria was not here?_

…

He saw the twins, sitting in a kneeled position, waiting attentively for his next order. They both seemed relaxed and pleased, having shown their Great Lord their own private worlds.

 _But. They are alive. They are genuine. This is not a game anymore. The fact that their mindscape were landscapes and not digital codes proves that._

 _But that would mean the truth would hurt them more, would it?_

 _I..._

"Is something wrong, Lord Neph?" Verdandi asked.

"Ahh, sorry, just lost in thought."

Hearing this, they remained silent as to not disrupt their Lord. Instead, they turned to look around them, and peered at the darkening skies. It was probably somewhere around eight-o-clock now.

 _Viqtoria, what would you do, if you were in my place?_

He thought this, as he looked at the two of them, leaning against the log that they had slept against the previous night.

He looked at Diyandi. She was a woman in her early twenties with peridot colored hair. Her complexion was a soft one. Something that you would see in a nun or a mother, tending to the children. Her lips were thin, yet they had an impact. One could describe such as "less is more". She had a small raised nose, and eyes that exhumed youthful radiance. The easiest way to describe this was that she was Caucasian, like Viqtoria.

He moved his eyes lower, and saw that she was a fit woman. Her muscles hidden just enough. She did not look too thin, but she did not look too brawny either. Neph allowed himself a quick glimpse of her chest, and saw quite a bit there. They were large.

 _Ahhhhh. They're my daughters. Stop._

He hurriedly looked over at Verdandi. She also bore a Caucasian face, albeit with a mix of Asian heritage. That is, her nose was a bit more unraised than her sister's, and a bit smaller. One could say that she looked like a K-Pop star. Or whatever that was, since in Neph's time, the concept of K-Pop was faded out of existence. All languages were universally understood due to a world translator, thus, all K-Pop, C-Pop, or whatever was just "Pop" now. Nevertheless, Verdandi looked more Asian than her sister, but they were both Caucasian. Unlike her sister's peridot green hair, Verdandi had long, flowing white hair. The kind of white one would see in falling snow. Like her sister, she was also physically fit.

 _Hmm_ , _I don't remember why we made their hairs so outlandish. Viqtoria's hair was just Amber colored, while mine was a jet black. You'd think since they are our supposed daughters that we would've have them inherit some parts of us._

Neph peeked at Verdandi's chest. Again, he saw quite a lot. They were big too, but not as big as her older sister's. If Diyandi's was a D cup, then you could say that Verdandi was a C.

 _Well, they certainly inherited from their mother._

Neph looked at them in the eye, and they looked a bit nervous. He could understand. What he just did was almost like a predator looking at his meal.

"I-I apologize." Neph said and did a quick bow.

"It's alright Lord Neph. Let us know if we can help with anything!" Diyandi said, she sounded a bit too excited. Verdandi nodded to this.

 _If only you can see them, Viqtoria. They really, are alive..._

 _But what should I do? Love? About this. This... Secret. Should I keep it from them to save them their happiness? This truth. It hurts me. And I don't want it to hurt them. But I fear if I were to keep it hidden, then someday the charade would fail, and it would all spiral out of control._

 _I'm not a great actor, love..._

 _But. I think I should tell them. Viqtoria, you and I never kept secrets from one another. So in this footstep I shall not keep it from them as well._

 _I'm scared. Scared that they will hate me. Scared that they would lose the youthful glint in their eyes._

 _And I'm scared of living this future with our children without you._

His conviction made, he gathered his inner strength. He was trembling, but a truth that hurt was better than a lie that healed.

 _But what if._

 _What if they abandon me?_

 _I would be fine, physically I am strong in this world. But what would I do?_

 _I already lost you. I can't lose them too._

It is then that Neph came up with a solution. He would tell them a half-truth.

 _Forgive me Viqtoria. I can't risk losing them too._

His heart grasped with his conviction. He spoke.

"You two. I have something to tell you. It is regarding Lady Alekszara".

The twins listened attentively.

"But before that, put up a defensive barrier around us."

Diyandi started moving to use the same spell she did for the villagers in their earlier battle. After she was done, Neph signaled them to turn around, and they started shifting.

"Are you ready?" He asked. One last breath before possibly the end.

""Yes Lord Neph!""

At this signal, he touched the back of their necks.

With this, they were now all within Neph's mindscape, that of a lone lighthouse standing atop vast obsidian seas.


	10. CH7: A Mother's Wish

"Master left me, that he did yes!" The wise king cried, his tone a panicked one no one would have expected from such a ferocious beast.

The beast paced back and forth. Neph led him to the village. And left him at the village.

"Master doesn't like me! He doesn't!" His eyes were now large beads of almost tears.

Enri had no idea what to do. Having been one of two people from the village to come back with the beast, it was decided she was to look over it. Now she was sitting outside her home, late at night, trying to comfort this insecure beast.

"There there... Ah... Wise King, I'm sure he will be back for you!" She said half heartedly.

"Will he? He hasn't given me a name yet, he has not!" The giant furry creature burrowed his large head into is all too small arms.

"Ahhh... This is gonna be a long night..." Enri sighed.

* * *

The first sound the twins heard inside their Lord's mind, was that of waves crashing on the shores. Specifically, the lighthouse they were on. It was a simple, old fashioned lighthouse, standing upon a flat, circular base. This base, stood barely a few heads above the ocean, just high enough that the crashing waves would only send vapors and droplets at one standing on it. They stood there, awe at every direction possible.

The water was black. It wasn't that the water itself was pure black, but rather, it was simply just that dark in the mindscape. The only light sources being the lighthouse's sweeping light, and an oddly shaped moon. The moon is a sort of ghostly white, but it seemed to shimmer in a way that would not be possible if the moon was it's true distance away from the lighthouse. The moon itself, was an odd crescent, but in the missing core's place were shards, or rather, pieces of the moon. These shone fractured light in multiple directions down on the sea.

With this light, one could see that the lighthouse was the only thing around. There was nothing in sight as far as the eye can see save the mirror-like reflections of the waves. The waves, were restless to say the least. They strode in directions that would seem impossible to tidal logic. In fact, it was more that a huge object was being dropped at irregular intervals and irregular locations into the ocean that caused these waves.

Like going to the beach at night, rather than exuding a somber and despairing feeling, the sight of this lone lighthouse would instill many with a quiet sort of hope. The type of which found between silver linings and golden edges. It was a hope so quiet one might break it like they would silence should they try to speak of it. Because of this, the two sat down and merely absorbed the surroundings. It was tranquil. The water splashes akin to arrhythmiatic heartbeats, and each vapor from the waves that touched them washed them over with a sense of cold not frostbitten, but just enough to be a reprieve.

"You two really like it in here?" Neph spoke, breaking the silence.

"O-Of course! This is your world after all, Lord Neph!" They replied in unison.

Neph chuckled a bit. The sat down with them near the edge of the lighthouse's base.

 _It is quite calming in here. Mindscapes were either memories or something one, with weeks of practice, can design. I never thought that I would subconsciously choose here as my mindscape. I guess I'm not in tune with myself as I thought. Nevertheless, this was a cherished memory, so it's fine. I don't need to design one._

The last time he had used a mindscape was before Viqtoria had passed. After that, Neph had just been too afraid to look into himself to use it again. The twins and their Lord sat there for what seemed like days. Time passed at one's discretion in one's mind.

 _Ahh. Maybe I don't have to be as anxious as I am to tell them._

"Alright, I think it's time we head inside." Neph spoke. He got up as the two stood up to follow.

The door to the interior of the ligthouse was on the other side of where they were, thus, they needed to walk around the edge of the lighthouse's base to get to it.

"Lord Neph? I've once overheard you speak with Lady Alekszara that a mindscape was either something dear to you or it was something one with skill can make. Which one is this?" Verdandi asked.

"This is... Well, where I proposed to her." He replied after a moment's hesitation.

"It's a memory?" Diyandi asked.

"Yes".

"To her... To Lady Alekszara?!" They both came to the realization at the same time.

"Yes." Neph spoke again. It seemed that's going to be most of what he's going to say now. In a way, he was glad that they were capable of connecting dots quite quickly. He heard them well up with excitement, the way two best friends would when they had found something amazing. He heard them shower him with praise and congratulations like "As expected of Lord Neph!" Or "Lady Alekszara must have been delighted beyond belief!". It kind of annoyed him, but he just kept quiet and walked along.

They followed, and he took a quick glance backwards at them. He could remember the time he was here in actuality. He could remember the time where he was just as happy as they were. In the 22nd Century, most forms of transportation by sea utilized the world's internet field to navigate connecting to ever present satellites and subnet sonars. As such, most lighthouses were decommissioned and deconstructed. The one the twins and Neph were on now, was one that was preserved for historical purposes.

It was located on the edge of a town called Haven, on the coast of Maine. It was Viqtoria's hometown. She told him of the legends surrounding the lighthouse.

How there was a sailor who was lost at sea and the sailor's love stood atop the lighthouse every day and night to wait for him to come home.

How there was a sea serpent that washed ashore at its base.

How there were people who believed that if one stood atop the lighthouse and wished with their soul and hopes in their hearts, that the wish would come true when the lighthouse's light sweeped the same day next year.

All these legends and stories led the townfolk to name the lighthouse, God's Old Ivory. He'd had always wanted to see this mythical lighthouse, and so on Viqtoria's twenty second birthday, the took her here. And it was here that he kneeled on one knee and rose to Cherry colored lipstick. This was the memory that cemented God's Old Ivory as Neph's mindscape. Albeit, it was alone out at sea and not at the edge of a town, but at the time he proposed, it really was just him, her, and it. Nothing else could break this magical fragment of time to them.

They had reached the door. Neph put one hand on the handle and with a sigh, opened. Their eyes met the bottom of a staircase that ran spiraling up the lighthouse. The entire interior of the lighthouse was illuminated by faint reflections of the light at the top. The kind one would find when lighting a candle in a room. Visibility was just high enough that they would not stumble, but also low enough that the rigid concrete staircase and tower seemed soft.

They started up the stairs in a uniform fashion, with Neph at the front and the two following behind, standing side by side. The staircase was quite wide, thus it could accommodate the twins and their wings without much discomfort. As they walked up, Neph was staring at the light above, while the twins were mesmerized by the seemingly spiral eye that formed when looking up a spiral staircase.

"What is this place, Lord Neph?" Diyandi asked.

"This is something in our world- The Supreme Being's worlds that was called a Lighthouse. It's used to signal danger in the sea, or used as a beacon to return home. Unfortunately this one was one of the very few remaining, preserved for historical purposes." He told them. It was a truth with just a pinch of misinformation.

"This is a piece of your higher dimension?!" They both gasped. Standing on the world of the Supreme Being to them was something tantamount to desecrating a sacred shrine.

"We are unworthy!" They both kneeled.

"It's alright, keep walking, this is merely a replication. You're not on the real thing." He spoke while moving up the staircase. He noticed the twins were now taking careful steps, as if not to disturb the concrete.

"But- what does this have to do with Lady Alekszara?" Diyandi asked. Neph knew it was coming.

"Because this is one of the places where Lady Alekszara grew up. She was the one who told me what this tower was called. It was called God's Old Ivory." Neph spoke. He relayed the stories he heard from Alekszara to them. They were now almost at the top.

Neph paused a step, then continued. They now stood at the apex of the lighthouse, the room where the beacon light shone at the sea. The windows circling this room were all glass, as to allow the beacon light to shine through. Here, they could see in every direction.

Neph walked towards the beacon, and he put a hand on it. He could make it do things it normally can't. The twins merely assumed a sitting posture, sensing their Lord's intentions.

With his hand on the beacon light, it stopped moving. The light now shone on a particular part of the sea near the lighthouse, where many waves fought over who gets to be reflective. The light flickered, and it changed to something else.

A picture.

"Who are they?" The twins both asked at the same time. They were looking at a picture of two children. Specifically-

"That's me and Lady Alekszara. It was when we were kids." Neph replied.

"But aren't you a Pure Thought Entity and Lady Alekszara an angel?" Verdandi questioned.

"Yes. But Pure Thought Entity is an end state. That is to say, we were not born to be Pure Thought Entities, but we had ascended into that form. Likewise, with Angels, the younger they are, the smaller their wings. Lady Alekszara was different, in that her wings did not appear until later on. That is why we both looked human. Because I was and because she wasn't true." That was Neph's reply. He had to come up with a reason to convince them. He wasn't lying though, Viqtoria was a bit shorter than most people for most of her life, barely growing to Neph's height.

"Ohh" The twins sighed in unison. The light flickered again and the picture changed to a small projected movie.

It depicted the life that they both led. The moment that the two had first played music together. The first kiss they had ever known. The time where they stood under this tower in moonlight and Neph had proposed at this very lighthouse. Then the time where they had held a celebration in YGGDRASIL.

"Lady Alekszara and you were meant to be together." The twins both said in unison.

"But why did your lives resemble human lives?" Verdandi asked.

 _Crap. I have to come up with something. Please, this is hard enough for me as it is, you two._

"Because we existed on a higher plane. We Supreme Beings had professions which would dictate the creation of entire worlds. YGGDRASIL, the home of you two, were one of many that we had created." A half truth. Humans made games. Humans made worlds. The eyes of the Gemini Twins widened.

"We exist on the highest plane of existence, but at some point, we can choose to descend to a lower plane. This is where Lady Alekszara and I descended into YGGDRASIL, and it is where we became the selves that you see us as today." Neph flickered the beacon light and it changed to the first time that he and Viqtoria had created their YGGDRASIL characters. And again, it was a half truth.

The eyes of the twins were almost popping out at this point. This was revelation to them akin to deciphering the word of God directly from his mouth. This was hallowed and sacred knowledge to them. In this vein, he was a bit glad that their awe stopped them from seeing any holes in his story.

"But... Why isn't Lady Alekszara here?" Diyandi asked.

This was it.

"Because..." Neph spoke with a heavy heart.

 _The die is cast._

"Because she had passed on." He finally got the words out.

Silence. For what seemed like centuries. Only the sounds of waves crashing and rowing were heard. Even the lighthouse's sweep light, which could make small creaking sounds, was now silenced as Neph held it.

"What do you mean, Lord Neph?" Diyandi asked.

"I mean, that she had perished." Neph replied, eyes low to the ground.

"But! How could that be possible?!" Diyandi asked again, her voice louder.

"We Supreme Beings are vulnerable in our home of the higher plane. There, we are effectively mortal to the machinations of... Of life. Things such as celestial storms, and crashes. Viqtoria was a victim of one of these crashes. She died protecting other Supreme Beings." Neph could barely speak these words. He was petrified. But again, it was a half truth. Although Viqtoria was merely a victim of circumstance, he could say that in a way, she died so others would not, thus, she did die for others. It was a way of thinking that Neph could appreciate, that she had done one last good deed.

He looked at the twins. First at Diyandi. Her eyes were full of tears, and they streamed down her face. She fell to her knees and held her visage in her hands, crying.

Then he looked at Verdandi. She was completely silent. He could not see her face as she was looking down.

"Verdandi, are you-"

* * *

A white flash of light. Suddenly, they were all now in their original bodies. Neph was in his Arch Devil, and the twins were in their respective Edenborn bodies. Neph realized what had happened.

 _A emotional breakdown!_

A forceful way of breaking out of a mindscape, was to have a surge of emotional change within one's mind. This destroys one's perception of another's mindscape, and thus, would forcibly exit.

"Verda!-" Neph yelled. His hand grasping for the air where her shoulder would have been. She had flown up.

"She broke the barrier!" Diyandi cried. Her eyes were crying here now too. Neph was at least glad that she was cooperative, even if he did not know what she was thinking of him now. He looked and saw that she was right. The barrier she had set up before was not broken from the inside, but rather, from Verdandi's ascent in to the skies at extreme speed and force.

"Verdandi! Please come back to me! Please listen!" Neph yelled at the top of his lungs, his very hopes ached like the back of his throat.

Verdandi did not acknowledge him. She screamed a wail that shook everything in the forest. It was midnight and every single bird here flapped out their homes to escape the sorrowful murderous intent that spread throughout from Verdandi. She remained afloat in the air. Then, suddenly, Neph saw her eyes start to glow.

She was crying, and her glowing sky blue eyes now spread the light to the two trails of tears on her face. Neph could sense a massive power surging within her.

"Lady Alekszara!" Verdandi screamed again. The two master and servant on the ground looked up to see a wave travelling out from Verdandi. That wave froze the pond that they had slept near yesterday night, and took the leaves of every tree that it hit.

Then the faintest of light fell from Verdandi. Squinting his eyes, Neph could see that it was a teardrop. That teardrop fell, and the moment it hit the ground a mere three yards from where Diyandi and Neph stood, spears of ice erupted from the flash frozen ground in every direction, forcing Neph to grab Diyandi and jump out of the way.

"Lord Neph!" Diyandi yelled.

"I know!" Neph was holding Diyandi, they were both in the air from Neph's hasty activation of [Fallen Heathen Wings].

He knew. Neph knew what was happening. Verdandi was now going to go into her High Avatar form. Verdandi and her sister had classes that were based around manipulating elements. Verdandi was the Avatar Of The Crackling Light, a class based on lightning, and Avatar Of The Frostbitten Waters, a class based on ice. These two were the basis of her [Solid Lightning] signature spell. And the High Avatar form that she was going in to would combine the two. Specifically, the High Avatar Of Glacial Tempests.

Neph knew that it was a moderate power boost in YGGDRASIL, but here, considering the strength of the people he had witnessed, Neph knew it would give her power to wipe out most of the light in a large area here without even trying. And if left alone, then maybe in a month, all life on this world, assuming everyone was as weak as Neph had first seen.

He had to stop her. He can't let her hurt anyone, and he can't let her be hurt if there were forces here stronger than her.

"We have to do something!" Neph spoke to Diyandi. They flew a short distance away to land and gather themselves.

"Diyandi! Please! The only way to get through to her now is you! She won't listen to me!" He spoke. He clutched both of Diyandi's shoulders and stared right into her crying red eyes.

All he saw was hurt. Pain. He knew this must be hard on her. He was asking her to fight one of the people that she loves most. Her sister. And now, learning that her direct creator, Viqtoria, was dead. If Verdandi was in this much pain to activate her High Avatar form, then Neph could barely imagine what it was like for Diyandi.

A crackling sound erupted. Several trees in Verdandi's vicinity shattered like the Sunlight Scripture had been shattered.

Neph turned for a split second to see that a ring of energy was building above Verdandi. Her wings were now in full Seraphim form, spreading to six total wings. Crackling [Solid Lightning] circled around the halo above her. And her entire body radiated a blue-white aura. She was now starting to become pure energy.

Neph turned back to Diyandi. With a heart of remorse and guilt. He looked into her crying eyes one last time and said.

"Please."

Diyandi was a bit taken aback. She sniffed, and with a large sweep of her hand wiped away her tears, which returned momentarily later in smaller amounts.

"As you will, Lord Neph." She said, her voice barely audible. She backed away from Neph's grasp and started activating her own High Avatar form, a fusion of Avatar Of The Titanic Terra [Earth], and Avatar of The Dancing Heat [Fire]. He looked into her now amber orange glowing eyes and said again.

"I'm sorry."

As those words reached her ears, she soared up. Neph saw Diyandi having the same Seraphim wings, totaling six. She was now in full High Avatar Of Tectonic Inferno form, and her body, like her sister, radiated an energy aura. This time, it was one that was orange near her body and tapered out to green as it got further from her skin.

"Verdandi, please stop." Diyandi spoke. She started floating towards her sister.

Neph on the ground looked up to the two divine powers above him, high in the skies, a light of blue and a light of green. He had to help Diyandi calm Verdandi down somehow. Then he realized. He hastily reached in to his item bag and pulled out a piano. One made of Ebonwood so dark one could not distinguish the wood from night. His immense strength in the Arch Devil body allowed him to put it down single handedly without much effort. He sat down on it, and started playing a tune. A tune that Viqtoria once played for him in game with the twins around. It was an ancient tune in their time. Ludovico Einaudi's Nuvole Bianche.

Up in the sky, Diyandi tried again.

"Verdandi, please calm down." Diyandi moved closer to her. They both looked down to see their Lord playing a tune familiar to them. They knew what it was. It was something that _She_ had played.

"She's gone!" Verandi screamed. She looked at her sister with a gaze of dejected fury.

"[Solid Lightning]!" Verdandi fired a bolt from the energy halo above her. It soared in the blink of an eye to Diyandi. Verdandi did not mean to kill, but rather, she was aiming for Diyandi's wings.

The bolt however, was rendered null by Diyandi activating [Firebloom Robe] just in time to block it. Fire based defenses were the most effective against Verdandi's [Solid Lightning], which was a physical damage spell. Seeing this, Verdandi switched to a barrage of pure energy attacks, regular [Tempest Lightning].

But Diyandi paid no heed. She let the bolts hit her as she advanced towards her sister. Each bolt searing a red scar on her body. But she did not mind. She had to help her sister.

"Stop!" Verdandi yelled. Diyandi was now practically next to her. Verdandi backed away for a bit, bracing for an incoming attack of [Density Fire], but nothing came. Instead, Diyandi merely rushed forward, and-

Hugged her sister. Diyandi stroked Verdandi's hair as they embraced in the moonless sky above the Forest Of Tob. The younger sister, one with hair like falling snow, sobbed into her elder sister's chest.

The energy ring above Verdandi slowly dissipated, and the aura of energy slowly disappeared from their bodies. They landed a few meters behind of Neph. He placed a small amount of magic into the Piano to keep a small loop of music going, then slowly walked towards the two.

He took heavy steps as he could see the two were still crying. He saw the wounds from Verdandi on Diyandi's arm and most of her body. Seared red streaks of flesh. Being an Avatar Of The Titanic Terra, Diyandi would have possessed immense regenerative abilities. The fact that the wounds still lingered showed how much impact the attacks had. He knew they were not out of malice. But a pained child lashing out with uncontrolled power.

Neph kneeled to them.

"I am sorry. But I did not want to keep the truth from you two." There was no response.

"It pains me too. That she's not here. We would have been a completed family." Now he too, started tearing.

"But there is something I must show you." Neph spoke. The twins stopped and looked at him, eyes still wet around the corners.

He slowly approached them on his knees, and attempted to hug them. At first they were hesitant, but then they allowed it.

Once again, they were inside Neph's mindscape. The waves were even more restless. He could barely hear himself speak, so he teleported the two inside the top of the tower, where they were before Verdandi's tantrum.

The Twins knew what Neph was going to do, and paid attention to the beacon's light as it was reflected in the sea.

There it flashed to a memory of Viqtoria.

"Lady Alekszara!" Verdandi blurted out, reaching for the image. She calmed down after this outburst.

The memory was from Neph's point of view.

He was looking at Viqtoria as she was tending to two identical shrines. Each one an ornate basin, from which beautiful rainbow colored water swirled. Floating above both of the shrines, were the Grand Soulstones.

A slight movement from the twins as they realized what the two stones were. It was what they were made from. They realized, that this was the moment that they were being created.

"It's quite a slow process." Viqtoria spoke. She splashed her hand in the rainbow colored water.

"They're not absorbing the [Prismatic Essence] as fast as I want them to."

[Prismatic Essence] was what the rainbow colored water was called. A substance in YGGDRASIL that was dense in energy, as well as being able to be infused with Experience points. It was quite expensive in the game to buy from others, but Neph and Viqtoria had a lot of money lying around. They were fully geared and had no upkeep for a guild base, as they had none.

"Relax dear. The shitty devs even said that there was an activation time. We can just wait it out." Neph of the memory spoke. The twins shook a bit, having heard that very same voice moments earlier.

Viqtoria and Neph walked outside the shack that they had placed the Grand Soulstones in. They knew it was dangerous. But it was a extremely remote location that required many to pass multiple labyrinths and trials to get to, so it was fine to them.

No one would go through all that trouble just to try and take the Grand Soulstones, especially if the journey would make them weaker to fight. They laid on the grass outside the shack, looking at the indigo purple sky. They were on a isolated field of Svartálfaheimr, the land of the Dark Elves.

"So. What are we going to make them to?" Neph said. He was lying down, his arms behind his head as a pillow. Thus, as there were no trees around, the point of view of the twins watching was of the splendid indigo purple sky.

"Well, I don't know." Viqtoria spoke. She was also lying down, but she nudged against Neph.

"My mother's wish was to have grandkids early so that she could be there for most of their lives." Viqtoria chuckled a bit.

"Are you saying that the two Soulstones in there are our children?" Neph asked. He chuckled.

"I guess so, in a way." Viqtoria giggled.

Then the memory shifted. The skies seemed to fast forward as the purple and indigo shifted and shifted. The twins watching the memory were now looking at their younger selves. Sleeping. Fresh out of creation.

Verdandi's snow white hair was barely shoulder length, not waist length as it is now. Diyandi was the same, her peridot colored hair was shoulder length. At this age, the two were nearly indistinguishable, being twins and having young features. The only way to tell who was who, was their hair colors.

"There they are. Our children." Viqtoria spoke. At this, Neph looked back at the twins watching the memory, and saw tears streaming down their eyes again. But he could tell that this was a different sort of tear. It was gratitude.

"Why do both of them have to be elemental based?" Neph of the memory groaned.

"Oh come on, I'm the mother here." Viqtoria snarked. She chuckled and they both laughed full of heart.

"Well. Your mother's wish was sort of fulfilled." Neph said.

"What is yours?" He asked.

"I don't know. I don't know what a mother should wish." She said. The ran her fingers through both of the twin's hairs. They were lying next to each other in a small child's bed. A rather plain one for YGGDRASIL standards but it made due.

Silence came over the memory for a moment. Before someone spoke again.

"A mother's wish huh."

"I wish for you two to be good." Viqtoria spoke in the most gentle voice she can to the fragile twins.

This was where the memory stopped.

Neph and the twins exited the mindscape, having finished watching the memory he wanted to share.

They were still in their embrace from before entering the mindscape, and just stayed like that.

The last words they heard echoing throughout their souls.

"I wish for you two to be good."


	11. Inter1: The Astrologer

Intermission I

* * *

 _What am I doing here?_

She thought. She had been sent out after word of her allies being wiped out to scout the opposition as to see who could have done that. She had been ordered to move with the quickest ability she had. That of [Seven League Step], and in addition, she was boosted in speed via the Windflower Scripture's enchanter. This was why she could arrive here mere hours after they lost contact with the Sunlight Scripture.

Every man and woman in the Sunlight Scripture. Dead. And to top it all off, there were no corpses. It had all been frozen to such an extent that thawing the bits and pieces evaporated the flesh as well.

This meant that they could not revive the members to question them to the opposition's forces.

Thus, she had been sent out.

Part of the Black Scripture, she was the Thousand Leagues Astrologer. A specialist in reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, she was here to study the potential enemy.

But what she found were two Angels. But not just that, Seraphims. Both having six wings each.

 _This is! The Advent Of The Gods!_

She was flooded with excitement. She wanted to meet them. But then she saw something that shook her to her very core. The twin Angels were following a man with onyx black eyes with seemingly had no reflection in them. He had white hair, and handsome features which stopped just before one could describe them as "sharp". A bit demon-like to say. He had wings which seemed like thousands of bone fingers in place of feathers. She hadn't noticed that they were bone fingers at first, as from far away, it looked like regular angel wings. But when she realized that they were index bone fingers in place of feathers, she felt a ominous sense overcome her.

 _This... This is no normal man._

She had followed them to the Forest Of Tob after being sent out to review the corpses of the Sunlight Scripture, and saw the three flying to the spot in the forest near the pond. She followed them here and concealed herself quite a ways far from them to observe and listen. She also had the option of following Gazef, but that was a target which was known to the Slane Theocracy, her homeland, and thus did not need to be followed.

The Thousand Leagues Astrologer took position and observed.

She saw that the three had landed, and dispersed their wings.

 _What are they doing?_

One of the Angels, one with peridot colored hair, created a barrier like the one she saw at the village which the Sunlight Scripture were to attack. It blocked the Scripture's spells easily, and she knew that she would not be able to penetrate it.

Thus, she was thankful.

 _At least I can still see through it. Let's see... What are they up to?_

She anticipated some kind of ritual. But she only saw the bubble-like barrier go up, and the three sitting in a formation which allowed the man with white hair to touch the back of the Angel's necks.

Then. They just stayed like that.

 _Huh? What's happening?_

She could not tell what has happening. The three were completely still. The barrier was sturdy and strong. But the Astrologer felt that if she went with a full force attack, it would be nothing to the barrier.

 _This is odd. Is this some kind of meditation?_

Then something happened. The Angel with snow white hair flew up to the sky suddenly, shattering the barrier and screamed with a murderous intent that shook the Astrologer to the very bottom of her soul.

 _Oh... I should not be here! This is too dangerous!_

"Lady Alekszara!"

Another scream, this one again shaking the Astrologer to her very core. But this was not a psychological quake. It was a physical one. The scream emitted a wave that traveled outwards with the Angel with blue and purple eyes as the center. It took the leaves off of every tree that it hit, and it knocked the Astrologer back a few meters from the tree she was perched on. On top of it all, the air was now extremely cold. She could see her own breath.

 _Such power!_

The Astrologer reeled back. She took another look at the Angel who was now high in the air, with her six wings fully spread out. A blue-white aura radiated from her body, and a giant halo of energy started emerging above her head.

 _Oh no! What is that!?_

In the next few seconds, her questions were answered. That ring emitted a bolt of lightning. It could hardly be called lightning. But the fact remains that it resembled lightning only in shape. Yes it glowed, but it appeared solid.

 _What is that lightning?!_

Then she heard a explosive crackling sound. Several trees around the angel were now shattered.

 _Just like the Scripture!_

 _There's no way I can fight against this! The power they radiate is far beyond comprehension. This can hardly be called the power of gods anymore._

Another explosion, and a tree next to the Astrologer shattered. It sent shards of flash frozen wood in every direction. Numerous shards impaled the Astrologer on her right side.

"Argk!" She bit her tongue.

She was now making moves to retreat. She now moved with the hastiest of speed as she felt another power surging behind her. She did not want to meet it, after having been wounded as part of collateral damage for an attack that wasn't even aimed at her.

 _If this is what being in the vicinity of one of those hits is like, if I get a direct hit, I am finished!_

 _I must make it back!_

 _I must tell the leaders about the three!_

But before she could make it far a [Solid Lightning] from Verdandi's rampage struck a mere meter from her body. Because it was not a direct impact, she was not shattered. But what it did, was it froze her. The emotion within the attack fueled the temperature to have such a freezing degree. The last thing the Astrologer thought of before falling in to a deep sleep was:

 _I must... I can't move... It's... cold..._

And she remained frozen there in the forest for what seemed like eternity.

* * *

Author Notes:

Hello guys! It's me again. I haven't done an Author Notes in quite a bit so I apologize. I haven't been able to write much because of college semester winding down and tightening up, but I suspect I'll be free more soon. Anyways, we are moving out of first volume territory, and the next one will have quite the significant changes in the story. I hope you'll stay tuned, cheers! :)


	12. CH8: Being Good

_You're so warm_

 _So are you._

 _You know, I'm not an angel here, and you're not just thought._

 _And we aren't just digitized data either, my dear._

 _But we are true._

 _And this elation I feel when we cuddle like this is true._

 _I love you._

 _I love you too._

* * *

Neph woke up against the log that the three had slept against on the first night. It was morning now, probably around 8 or 9, Neph assumed. The twins had been carried here by Neph and laid against the log. It wasn't unlike the way they were laid on the bed at their creation in the mindscape. Neph had draped a spare mid level cape he had lying around in his inventory over them to keep them warm.

Leaving them aside, he got up slowly as to not disturb them, and walked off. He walked towards the pond where he first had Diyandi put [Wisp Fyre] on. He stepped on it. It was completely solid.

 _Still? Her emotions being tied to the strength of the wave is truly a thing to behold. This pond is still frozen even though conventional physics should thaw it out. Or maybe the physics were different here._

Neph stood there for a second past a moment. He wondered if the pond's freeze duration had been an enchanted effect. Nevertheless, he got off and started today's endeavors.

The three all possessed Rings Of Sustenance, thus they did not need to eat. Still, Neph felt the day would not properly start without a breakfast. The sleeping was merely out of habit. In truth, Neph didn't know why the twins needed sleep, or slept at all. He just assumed that it was to imitate him. Neph pulled out an object from this inventory.

[Simple Kitchen]. An object that looked like a wooden cube, in which, as the name implies, lies simple ingredients. These include things that are readily available from easy to obtain sources. Eggs, wheat, flour, beef, bacon, you name it. There are higher versions, such as [Extravagant Kitchen] and [Exquisite Kitchen] which had the appearance of a Silver and a Gold box respectively. These higher versions had things like Dragon's Meat, Leviathan Cuts and Orcanus Steak. The difference in the grade of ingredients is that the two higher tiers had to be manually re supplied. This is opposed to the lowest tier, [Simple Kitchen] being able to dispense essentially unlimited simple ingredients.

He put the box down on a nearby rock, but before he could reach inside it for a a few eggs, he heard a voice.

"Lord Neph." He turned around to see Verdandi standing there. As soon as their eyes met, she got on one knee with one hand over her heart.

"I sincerely apologize for my outburst yesterday. I am a fool, and I even harmed Diyandi. I will accept any and all punishment for my transgressions." She spoke in a resolute tone.

Neph was a bit surprised. He had no intentions of punishing her.

"Stand" He said.

"But-"

"I said stand." And so she did. She closed her eyes.

And felt the warm sensation of two arms wrapping around her. One hand on the back of her head, patting. She opened her eyes to see that Neph was no longer next to the [Simple Kitchen], but in front of her.

"What happened yesterday... was along the lines of my predictions. Your actions were simply someone hurt lashing out. I completely forgive you. The actions were not of malice, and even I could tell that you were aiming for Diyandi's wings instead of hurting her. Thus, I do not see it fit to punish someone who is pained." Neph spoke into her ears. They hugged for a moment before Neph pulled away to get back to the [Simple Kitchen]. Verdandi was in silence.

"But-!"

"Silence. There is nothing more to discuss." Neph cut her off.

"If you want to make up for it, then help me cook a good breakfast for her." He said as he turned to the [Simple Kitchen], pulling out a few eggs, a few slices of bacon, and some other small ingredients.

 _Eh, not enough bacon._

He pulled out a dozen more slices of it. And one stick of butter for good measure. Neph heard Verdandi's sniffing slowly stop behind his back, and then heard footsteps approaching him.

"Can you make drinks?" He asked.

"What kind would you like, Lord Neph?"

"Hmm. Let's have some coffee." He responded. Verdandi too walked over to the rock where [Simple Kitchen] was situated and pulled out some coffee beans.

Neph manifested few kitchen tools out of energy. A black energy cutting board, so he can cut a few slices of bacon down to bite sized squares. He'd always liked it like that. A similar black energy frying pan, and a makeshift cooker. He suspended the pan over the cooker and placed a few logs of wood that Verdandi had blasted apart yesterday under it.

"Precision Razor: [Infernal Slice!]" Neph yelled at the top of his lungs and grazed the wood with a small kitchen knife he manifested. The wood exploded and charred him with black ash.

 _I think I went a bit overboard. What the hell brain, there was no need to use Blade Techniques on wood of all things. This is not the way to start a fire on wood._

A fit of laughter snapped him out of his mental self scolding. He turned to see Verdandi laughing for the first time since she came to this world. He looked at her in the eye while she was still holding the three coffee drinks she held, and soon they both started laughing again.

"What's happening?" Someone spoke. The Angel and the Arch Demon who were cooking turned to see it was Diyandi.

She had one hand in a fist rubbing her left eye, and her other arm extended up in a groggy rude awakening sort of wake up. Diyandi blinked a few times and spoke.

"Good morning, Father." She said with a smile, the sadness in her eyes were almost not there, considering what had happened yesterday. Hearing father made Neph paused for a second, but it made him smile.

"Heh. I take it you had a good dream?" Neph asked. Realizing what she just said, Diyandi blushed and turned away.

"It's alright, I don't mind you guys calling me that. Viqtoria and I did see you two as kind of our own."

"Our greatest gratitude, Lord Neph." Verdandi spoke, she bowed deeply. Diyandi got up and joined her after a few moments.

"Back to cooking." Neph said. He had to pull out a few more items out of [Simple Kitchen], as the batch he had pulled out earlier was ruined by the explosion. They were on the floor with the grass now. And like last time, he pulled out quite a bit of bacon.

"Let me help you with that, Father." Diyandi said. She utilized a sub-branch of Avatar Of The Titanic Terra's power: Plant Thrall and manipulated a nearby tree into a full blown table. Then she used the earth aspect of the power to raise up a clean stone to create a cooking spot for Neph. In addition, she lit a fire for him.

Seeing this, Neph dispelled the cutting board and the cooker he made himself, and cooked on the new one.

 _I guess fires should be left to the person with actual fire power, ha._

While cooking, Neph could hear the two sisters behind his back talking. Verdandi was sitting there now, handing a solid glass of ice which contained coffee to Diyandi. He could see that there was an extra glass on the table for him.

 _It's kinda cool that she can control temperature to such an extent. She's making it so that the heat from the coffee does not melt the ice, but at the same time, makes it so that the ice doesn't feel cold to the touch._

Neph started tuning in to their conversation.

"-I am alright, Verdandi." Diyandi spoke.

"Yes, but what I did was childish, and I apologize. I caused you wounds." Verdandi replied.

"It is nothing, besides, sis, you know I can regenerate extremely fast."

"But-"

"It's fine. And I believe Father... er, Lord Neph shares the same sentiment that what you did was perfectly within reason. Even if a bit despaired." Diyandi said, taking a sip of her coffee.

"I... If you say so, sister." Verdandi spoke softly. She did a quick bow with her head and too sipped her coffee.

Neph let them sit there to enjoy their coffee for a bit. Then he finished up the scrambled eggs and bacon... Well, scrambled eggs and lots of bacon for the three of them, and placed them in front of the twins.

Neph's portion, however, had notably more bacon.

"Thank you for the meal!" Both twins said and bowed, then began consuming it in a graceful haste not unlike those of a queen or an empress who hadn't had breakfast. Neph, on the other hand, just ate messy like he always did.

The three finished up a bit later, and enjoyed another cup of freshly brewed coffee, this time, from Diyandi's [Plant Thrall] instead of [Simple Kitchen]. The taste was noticeably better as this was something controlled and created from magic.

"Well, Lord Neph? What are we to do?" Diyandi asked. Neph was in the middle of a sip of coffee.

"I'm not quite sure yet, but I do believe we need to go back to the village. I did kind of leave the hamster there..." Neph said while trying to hid his face with the glass.

"Oh. But Lord Neph, what are hamsters?" Verdandi asked. Her sister also looked at Neph in a questioning way. Neph, surprised at himself for thinking they'd know of the higher world.

"Well, they're a sort of species present in the world of the Supreme Beings. Some of us kept them as pets. They were about the size of your entire hand at the biggest, and they were quite cute actually."

The twins were wide eyed with amazement.

"That aside, what should we do in this world? We are plenty powerful, judging from yesterday's battles. I guess we can make money or something." Neph asked. In truth, he did think of going home. But he did not want to, nor did he know how to. His family was doing fine without him in their lives before. And the thing was... Viqtoria was no longer there.

"I think... I think we should try to be good." Someone said.

"Hm." Neph looked at Diyandi. The three silently agreed. After all, those were the words of their "mother".

"I see. I had a similar thought. And I do hope you two forgive me for yesterday... I did not want to keep such a huge secret from you two." Neph said, lowering his head. The twins started explaining why they were thankful and happy but he cut them off.

"But how do we go about being 'good?"

"Well, there were people being opressed like we saw. And there are more children potentially in danger like the two we rescued yesterday." Verdandi responded.

Neph did think of that. He didn't know how to help them though. He was happy though, that he felt he made the right choice in telling them about Viqtoria.

"Well, there are many things uncertain at the moment. I believe we should gather information. Let's head back to the village." Neph said, and the twins nodded. They all stood up respectively and activated their flight skills.

Verdandi and Diyandi with [True Manifest Wings], creating a set of beautiful feathered wings that looked ephemeral. And Neph with Aspect Of The Arch Devil: [Fallen Heathen Wings].

* * *

The villagers, still going about cleaning the razed village were staring at the giant beast that the mysterious Warrior In White and the Two Angels had left in the village. They had sumrised that it was to protect them, and so, it kept their minds at ease. The reason they were staring though, was that the thing was laid on its back sleeping, snoring quite loudly.

Braucur Emmot was quite proud of his daughter. She had put that thing to sleep with a bit of convincing. He was also quite thankful for the Warrior In White and the Angels, perhaps more than anyone else in this village. Because they had saved his daughter.

The rumbling in the village came to a halt as three figures descended from the sky onto the village center.

 _Ha! Speak of the devil, but I guess angels appeared this time._ Braucur thought

The rest of the village ran over to greet their saviors and still thanked them for yesterday. The man that had a mask on did not seem to have it on anymore. They could see that the man leading the two Angels with mismatched eyes were about the same age as them. He possessed handsome features, a look that was a mix of Caucasian and Chinese, but his features were just short of being described as "sharp".

It did unnerve the villagers to see that their savior's eyes were so... black. Not that Neph's eyes were completely black, no. But his irises were so black, onyx-like obsidian that one could lose their souls to the depths. Still, it exhuberted a certain silent kindness, and they did not hesitate to approach and thank him. Braucur saw a sort of flicker within the darkness of those eyes. Something tells him that the man who possessed those eyes were looking for something.

Neph was a bit uncomfortable, being in the middle of all of these people. He was never used to this kind of attention, so he just looked around to find the village chief. But Neph's eyes met a man who was standing in the middle of the crowd. He was above average in height, and had a muscular build. A bit more than Neph's, actually, but much older. Neph assumed an age figure of around 40 to 45. The man with features that seemed wearily youthful stepped forward and introduced himself to Neph.

"Greetings, Neph Savior-sama. I am Braucur Emmot, and I am the father of the two girls that you saved yesterday. From the bottom of my heart, I sincerely thank you with all of my heart and soul!" The man knelt at these words. The crowd around slowly began to quiet as they had sensed this heartfelt moment.

"Ah... Uh, please, stand up. It's quite alright." Neph spoke in a light tone. The man stood up but still held and expression of gratitude.

"If there is any-"

"Father!" Someone yelled. Two figures shorter than most of the adults in the crowd that had formed around Neph and the Twins rushed past the commotion to their father. The two smaller girls hugged their father from behind. The smallest one, Neph could accurately guessed around 9 or 10, stepped forward and spoke.

"Savior-sama! Thank you!" She almost yelled this. Neph was a bit taken aback, but he just leaned forward and patted her head with a smile. A hand reached out from behind Neph's back and handed the smaller child a flower which glowed a faint, rose pink. Neph turned around to see it was Diyandi.

 _She probably grew that from [Seedling Creation]_

The crowd erupted into an applause not unlike when they had saved the two children. Neph turned to their father.

"Well, Sir Braucur, may I ask where the Village Chief is?"

"Ah, I could sort of sense that you were looking for him. No doubt some more questions. I believe he is-" Braucur was interrupted.

"Ah, Neph-sam... Neph-dono!" An old man yelled out.

"Please, come this way."

The three strangers to the village and the Emmot family started in the Chief's direction. The crowd dissipated, but they retained their happy mood.

The six people met up with the Chief, and as they could not fit in the Chief's house comfortably, they all stood outside. Feeling a bit awkward, Neph asked Diyandi to conjure up seats with her Earth Avatar's [Terra Form].

The seven people sat, and the Chief's wife went to make drinks. Diyandi prepared a similar seat for her when she got back, as well as a table in the middle of the circle of seats.

"Neph-dono, again, thank you for saving us." The Chief began.

"It's alright. I have a question though." Neph responded.

"I mean no disrespect by this, Chief, but you weren't as knowledgable as I had hoped. I also forgot to ask Gazef about the world yesterday, seeing as I was not around here and I felt that would take too much time. I was wondering if there was a profession that let me travel around and learn by experience."

"Ah. Don't worry, I know what you mean Neph-dono. I've lived around these parts for most of my life, it's only natural to not be able to answer questions about the intricacies of the wider world. As for your question..." The Chief trailed off.

"It seems like you're describing Adventurers." Braucur responded. Neph looked at him, and Braucur seemed to feel like he needed to continue.

"Adventurer are people who use their strength and talents to accomplish a variety of tasks for people who request them. These include things like monster hunting, herb gathering, and protection services just to name a few."

"And how does one become an Adventurer?" Verdandi asked. She responded for Neph, and he was a bit happy about it.

"There are Adventurer's Guilds around most of the cities big enough. I believe the closest one would be E-Rantel." The Chief spoke. Neph looked at Braucur. But it was not him that spoke.

"If it you need to, then I can show you the way to E-Rantel." The elder sister said.

"My name is Enri, Savior-Sama." She added.

"Nice to meet you, Enri, my name is Nephilentines. Just Neph will do. It's a long name." He extended a hand for her to shake. She took it.

"Are you sure you want to go? I know the way as well." Braucur, Enri's father asked.

"It's fine father. Besides, I have to meet with a friend of mine there. I'm sure Lord Neph's strength will keep me safe." She spoke.

"Well, I guess that settles it. We'll be heading to E-Rantel." Neph rose up and did a slight bow. The twins echoed this, and soon the other four people, or rather, five, did the same.

"My, leaving already?" The Chief's wife asked. She held a plate with cups for all of the people present here.

"Ah, my sincere apologies, Madam." Neph said, he gently took a glass from the plate and drank it.

"Thank you." Neph added, and turned to go to the giant hamster. Who slept to the left side of the village's center.

"Wake up." Neph poked at it.

"Ahhh, what?... Oh Master! You came back for me!" The giant furry thing rose up and went to hug Neph, or tried to, with its small arms. It was more laying on him, since it was so large.

"My bad for leaving you. Can you take someone on your back?" Neph asked.

"Yes, will it be you, Master?" The creature asked.

"No, it will be her." Neph made Enri stand in front.

"I see, very well. I just hope she can hang on."

"I-I'll try my best!" Enri almost yelled.

Neph and the twins activated their Wings and began to rise up as Enri climbed slowly onto the Creature's back.

"Master! Please wait!" The creature spoke.

"You haven't given me a name yet!" It was that had made Neph realized he hadn't.

"I see. Well... From now on, your name will be Hamster!" Neph blurted out... He didn't quit think that through. It's kinda odd to name someone the name of their species.

"Ah, I seem to-"

"Thank you Master! Hamster will serve you gladly!" Hamster said.

Neph sighed. The four people and one giant Hamster turned back and waved farewell.

Neph let Hamster begin first as he led the directions with Enri, and a moment after the three winged figures followed them as well, departing for the city of E-Rantel.


	13. CH9: Adventurebound

Neph's group travelled true at a rate that astonished Enri. They practically skated over the trail road that led to E-Rantel, moving so smoothly that one could doubt there were much motion at all.

But there was very much motion. Enri could attest to this. She clung to the hairs on the monster, now called Hamster, for dear life. It galloped with such force that each time it lunged it felt like it could pass over mountains. But it's little feet stopped their descents in the most gentle way, making it seem like that the Hamster itself was nothing more than a wave of watter, ebbing and flow.

Enri looked up at the sky to see the three Saviors of Carne Village soaring true with their wings. The twin Angels had wings which shimmered and glowed a ornate, golden color, beautifully outdoing the sun above them. The leader of the group, Lord Neph to Enri, had wings that resembled a grayer version of the Angel's wings. She had not notice it at first, but the feathers of those wings, those [Fallen Heathen Wings], as she heard him say, were actually finger bones.

It scared her, at first, those giant hands extending out of Lord Neph's back. But the fact that those wings belonged to the one that saved both her sister as well as her home, it looked to her more than a gentle hand than a malicious grasp.

"Everyone, stop, there is something that needs attention." A voice snapped Enri out of her awed trance.

Lord Neph was the first one to land, Enri saw. Hamster had long stopped his movements as to await orders. The twins descended afterwards gracefully.

"What is it, Lord Neph?" Enri asked. She was leaning against the comfortable fur of Hamster, but seeing as how the twins bowed, she stopped and bowed as well.

"I believe we should conceal ourselves. We can't go around flying with our wings like this. Especially after I made Gazef agree to conceal our power." Neph said. The twins nodded as he could see, but he looked at Enri and only saw confusion.

"I know this is a bit much to ask, but I request that you also help us conceal our power. We are in an unknown land, and would like to avoid attention." Neph spoke and bowed to Enri.

Enri, flustered as to why someone so great would bow to her, blurted out-

"Wh-What are you saying, Lord Neph?! This is the very least I can do! I solemnly promise that your secret is safe!" Enri yelled and bowed in return.

"Alright then." Neph said. He looked at the twins.

"Yes Lord Neph?" The both of them said in unison.

"You two, need to conceal your wings from now on, unless I say otherwise, you are not to reveal them to anyone. Your halos are fine, they only come out when you are in your High Avatar form or True Eden forms. But I repeat, do not show them unless I say so." Neph said, and looked the two in the eye with a firm stare.

"As you will, Lord Neph" They both spoke and bowed. The wings behind them shattered into light as they did, and they appeared as nothing but beautiful women, not out of the ordinary.

Neph himself dispelled [Fallen Heathen Wings].

"But, how will we get to E-Rantel without flying? From what she describes, we are about halfway there." Verdandi asked.

"Relax, we can conjure up transportation. I can create a few beasts, and Diyandi can conjure up Earth Elementals. You can do the same." Neph responded.

"But Lord Neph, won't that be too much of a giveaway? Elementals are a 6th tier spell, and while I would be happy to cast it at your command I feel it is a detriment to concealing our power." Diyandi responded. She was pouting a bit. Her reasoning was sound though, and Neph couldn't help but agree.

"Well..."

"Why not a wagon or a carriage? I saw them sometimes during my visits to my friend in E-Rantel, it seems like something that would fit Savior-sama's group." Enri said, interrupting Neph's thinking.

"That's a great idea!" Neph couldn't help but exclaim. He patted Enri's head a bit, and she smiled. He looked at Diyandi, and without a word, she started conjuring up a wooden carriage for the four of them. The specific ability that allowed this was a higher form of [Seedling Creation], the ability that Diyandi had used to give Enri's little sister a flower. It was called [Vegetation Animate] and allowed the user to control plants to varying degrees of mastery.

Diyandi's skill level of it was such that she could conjure up a working carriage. This was completed with wheels that function and rotated, defying all kinds of logic that something grown could not do that. The carriage, while wooden, was ornate. Indeed, it looked like a carpenter's life's work. It would astound any art critic. The door opened to a large cabin enough for 4 people to comfortably sit.

Neph started towards it, but stopped.

"I need to change out of this." He said. He searched his inventory for appropriate looking gear and equipped it in a flash of light. It was another set of armor.

To describe it would be... Tribal. It was an asymetrical looking armor that radiated battle prowess. The right shoulder was covered by a spiked epaulet. In contrast, the left shoulder was covered by a large patch of white fur.

There was a strap that connected the bottom edges of the spiked epaulet on Neph's right shoulder running diagonally across his body, attaching at the belt on the left side. Underneath it all, the armor was a simple plated pail, albeit with large bands of metal instead of a single underlying breastplate. There were two large, white leather plates which hung from the belt on the sides of Neph's waist, and two larger and longer ones trailing from the back. Overall, this made it look almost like a battle tailored tailed suit.

The bottom half simply looked like black metallic bandages that wrapped around Neph's legs. He wore a pair of white boots which appeared angular, with a single spike where the knee would be, curving downwards. To finish this off, he added a pair of white gauntlets, with the same angular look, but lacking the spike that the boots possessed.

"I think this will do. [Wynter Siege] armor should do just fine, it's low level enough that it looks like something that can be commonly made, but was strong enough to absorb up to three hits from a strong opponent before completely breaking. This is enough time for me to switch back to Ghost White armor." Neph explained. He looked at the twins for approval, and they nodded excessively.

"Will you be wearing the mask?" Verdandi asked.

"Well, it's been a part of me for a long time. It would be wrong not to." Neph said and pulled out the oh so familiar mask that Enri first saw him with. A mask with horns that resembled he mane of a lion, with a crown-like set of horns at the top. No mouths were present on the mask, but two eye sockets that were blacker than the abyssal darkness.

Neph looked at the twins, and understanding his intentions, they both changed into matching witch wardrobes.

They both wore a vest comprising of ice dragon skin, which was furred around the neck and the arms. Underneath it, they both wore a shirt woven out of metallic fibers known as [Gorgonic Tongues]. The shirt was a bit tight, and it showed off their busts in a modest way. To describe the shirt in a simple way would be that it was a sleeveless turtleneck.

Their bottom halves were comprised of a pair of ice dragon skin pants, which also were skin tight, but tastefully so. They were adorned with a set of low-raised heels on the feet, the heels themselves looking like a series of spider legs which converged on a point lying just a bit farther than where the big toe would be. The thing that stood out most from their outfit, however, were the skirts. Verdandi and Diyandi both now wore a kind of separated skirt.

They both had a belt on their waists, this formed the basis of their skirt. Starting from the middle back of the belt, long, flowing strips of fabric tinted in their elemental colors would flow down. This extended from the middle back out to the sides of the belt, but not the front. Thus, when moving, it looked like a trail of color through water, or perhaps a soft colored breeze passing through. The fabric that trailed them was ethereal. There were no sensations if one were to touch it, it was that soft.

Overall, this gave them both a otherworldly look. There were minute differences between the two, such as the highlights on Verdandi's vest was silver blue as opposed to emerald green on Diyandi's. A similar case for the trailing fabric which formed their "pseudo skirt".

Enri was stunned.

 _So beautiful... So gracefully divine._

"Alright, that about settles it. Let's get back to the journey." Neph spoke, breaking Enri out of her trance. She could see that the three were already heading towards the carriage.

"Ah-Yes!" She followed suit.

Diyandi manipulated the carriage to extend its wood as a pair of tendrils which lightly wrapped around Hamster's body.

"You may begin, Hamster." Neph comanded.

"Yes, milord!"

And so their journey continued.

* * *

The group of four had made it into the city of E-Rantel. With just a single step, countless eyes wandered towards them, examining the new faces. Hamster was not here because he had to be outside the city gates. Neph just told him to go and

 _"Find some food or something"._

And so he did.

The group of four walked slowly, with Enri leading. To summarize the thoughts of the observers, most of the looks were in the following context:

 _What's this farm girl doing here?_

 _Who is that mysterious man with the white mask?_

 _By the gods, the two beauties behind the warrior in white are truly beautiful!_

Lecherous eyes, fearful eyes, enticing eyes, Neph had seen it all.

 _It's to be expected_

He thought. Enri had led them to the middle of town square, wherein she turned to him and bowed. This of course, drew a couple of gazes, but Neph appeared richer than Enri, so it did not draw much suspicion for someone of lower class to look up to higher class.

"Lord Neph, I think this is where we will split ways temporarily. I have a friend I want to go ask a few things of!" She ushered these words out. There was a pause, but she heard a reply.

"Alright. If you are finished with your business, then you can come find me at the Adventurer's Guild." Neph said, looking at a place where several armored men came in and out of. He couldn't read the signs, but his intuition told him that the place he was looking at was it.

"Thank you very much!" Enri said, and bowed again before heading off.

Neph and the twins entered the Adventurer's guild a few moments later. Again, they drew many gazes from the inhabitants inside, but seeing as how there were an innumerable amount of armed personnel, Neph knew firmly that this was the place.

He stepped in and took a walk around the lobby to survey what to do, and noted that there were several people who looked at a sort of bulletin board and approached the large counter after tearing off a sheet of parchment from the board.

 _Damn. You need to know to how to read. How is it that I can talk fine but I can't read a single lick of these characters?_

Neph glanced at Verdandi and Diyandi.

 _They seem to be having problems too!_

 _Alright, well let's keep calm. We can't even accept jobs yet. I can assume that the people are checking with the board that those are the requests Braucur was talking about. So that mean I can avoid the reading problem for just a little bit longer if I go through registration first._

With this idea, Neph approached the counter with the twins and spoke.

"Hello, and how may I serve you today?" The receptionist spoke.

 _Alright, well, let's try the charm route._

Neph took off his mask and looked the receptionist in the eye. He had been told he was handsome, according to Viqtoria and a few others, so this will probably work.

"Hello. Me and my two comrades here would like to register to become Adventurers." He gave her a soft smile. She was visibly stunned. It took her a few moments before she can gather herself, and her coworkers around also looked at her with the opinion that she was so easily defeated.

 _Uhh, did it work?_ Neph thought.

"A-Ah yes! There will be a five silver coin entry fee, and a, a five copper fee for a literacy test!" She said, straightening herself.

 _Are you serious. A literacy test of a language that I haven't even seen before today._

Neph started pulling out a few batches of coins, fifteen silvers and fifteen coppers, one set of payment per person in his three person group.

It was at the moment of him beginning to hand over the money and dreading the literacy test that the room was stirred up with a applause. Neph turned around to see everyone in the Adventurer's Guild applauding.

It was Gazef. Neph felt a bit of relief.

Gazef took a look around and saw three familiar faces, and felt relieved as well. And with a single phrase, Gazef silenced the entire room, and everyone that was in motion stopped as if [Time Stop] had been used.

"Nephilentines-dono, it is good to see you!" Gazef spoke in a loud, commanding tone while walking over.

"Good to see you too." Neph said, extending a hand for Gazef to shake. He let Verdandi hold his mask. In truth, Neph felt a bit relieved, but he didn't know that "Warrior Captain" had so much social power, so much prestige in this city. The room seemed to resume motion and life again, but there were still eyes being thrown in Neph's direction.

"What brings you here?"

"I have decided to travel around as Adventurers, to see the world. And to render my services to those who need them, after discussing with my subordinates." Neph replied, showing a hand to Verdandi and Diyandi.

Gazef felt a bit relieved. His intuition after speaking to the messenger about Neph on the day that he was saved by Neph was true. Gazef wondered why Neph was in a different, more tribal suit of armor now, but he just decided that someone of Neph's strength would have different armors.

"I see, well then perhaps I can-"

"Gazef Stronoff!" A man yelled. The two interrupted parties looked up at the new voice and saw a man looking down at them from the interior balcony.

Gazef smiled before he replied back.

"Guildmaster! I was just looking for you!"

"Who's your friend?" The Guildmaster asked.

"A extremely strong warrior who helped saved my life a few days ago."

A unanimous sound of "Ohhhhh" reverberated throughout the building. It was at this point that news spread about Neph in a ambiguous manner as the warrior in white saved the Warrior Captain.

"Well then, this is a good day! Shall we go somewhere to discuss things?" Gazef asked Neph.

"Sure. I have a few things I'd like to ask of you as well."

* * *

The group of six people sat down on a large oval table. Neph's group was on one side, and Gazef and the two higher ups of the Guild were on the other.

"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Pluton Ainzach, E-Rantel's Guildmaster. My partner on my left is Theo Lachesil, and he's the Magic Caster Guildmaster." Ainzach spoke.

Neph did a slight bow before introducing himself and the twins as well. The first one to start was Ainzach.

"So, Neph-dono, tell me about how you saved Gazef's life." He took a sip out of the beer that had been placed by a waitress.

"Well, it's nothing really. I simply stumbled upon Gazef fighting the Sunlight Scripture, as I'm told they're called, and helped him out when it seemed like he would need it." Neph gave a non-chalant reply. He didn't drink the beer, because he never liked alcohol. Instead, he drank a cup of water he had Verdandi materialize.

"Really?" Ainzach responded. He could feel like there was something more, so he looked at Gazef.

"That's really how it happened. I am ever grateful for Neph-dono's help."

The mood seemed to go sour for a bit. It was Pluton who resumed the flow of things.

"Still... To be able to help Gazef against an opponent of Sunlight Scripture's level... If you were an adventurer, you'd be at least Silver Ranked."

"I can definitely vouch for at least Gold." Gazef interjected.

"Pardon?" Neph asked.

"Well, if you don't know, the Adventurers were ranked according to metal, Copper – Iron – Silver – Gold – Platinum – Mythril – Orichalcum – Adamantite. You are trying to register as an adventurer no? I've seen your group at the counter." Pluton said.

"Well, yes." A simple reply came from Neph.

"Well, that settles it. Most Adventurers start off at copper but I think with Gazef's voucher we can give you Silver right off the bat!" Pluton declared a bit too happily."

"I'll consider it a favor for me too." Gazef smiled at Ainzach.

"Well. This is unprecedented ground. There hasn't been many cases of people skipping ranks as they join. But I guess I'll take the favor then. Excuse us, we'll get the paperwork ready." Ainzach got up and took Pluton with him. The remaining four waved goodbye.

"I guess I'll go find him at the Guild again later?" Neph asked.

"Yes. But first. I have a favor to ask of you, Neph-dono." Gazef questioned in return.

"Hmm?"

"Well, it's unfortunate that Ainzach and Pluton left so early but I can fill them in afterwards. I've been summoned by the King to investigate a criminal organization. This note is what was we found on one of the guards that had been killed outside of the Royal Palace." Gazef handed Neph a note. Neph couldn't read it of course, but thankfully Gazef spoke out the contents.

"It's a threat from someone who only left the initial Z. The rest of the paper was torn as the guards retrieved it. It says that from this city, the City Of E-Rantel, that this 'z' will send the kingdom into ruin."

"I see..." Neph pondered, trying to look as invested in the note as he can. He did see a sign at the bottom that resembled a big Z, but it was more ornate than a normal English Z.

"That's why I'm here. To recruit some Adventurers with good strength to try and investigate any suspicious activity around these parts. This is a matter of kingdom security after all."

"But are you sure you should be telling me this? Isn't this a breach of secrecy?" Neph asked.

"I trust you in truth. Saving my life and all. I also trust my intuition that you are someone who can be trusted."

"Really now?" Neph spoke. The twins behind him nodded excessively at the word "trust".

"So what do you want from me?" Neph asked. Gazef sighed.

"Simply put, I wish to ask for your strenght one more time. And I request that any activity you find suspicious, you report to me. I really wish I can confidently say that I can handle this on my own, but because of the 'z' initial, our intel suspects it is a group known as Zuranon." Gazef sounded a bit down.

"Zuranon?" This peaked Neph's interest.

"A highly dangerous death cult which man of its members specialize in necromancy. Their influence is spread throughout many countries and cities. We fear that one splinter group has taken residence in this city..." Gazef's voice trailed off.

"Very well. I'll keep an eye out. Since they're a death cult, I can assume they probably wear something like black or red, and mostly robes and hoods?" Neph responded.

"Ah, yes, I would also like one of my subordinates to provide you with more inform-"

"Lord Neph!" Someone interrupted. The girl ran in at an impeccable pace.

"What-what is it?" Neph asked, a bit startled. A second figure rushed in, this one also female, but much older.

"My grandson! My grandson's been taken!" The lady was a bit bloodied. She was wounded.

"He-He held them back while we escaped! A woman with daggers almost killed us!" She yelled out again, inciting panic in the small Inn where Neph and Gazef were having drinks. Confused, Neph looked at Enri.

"My friend Nferia's been taken!"


	14. Inter2: Moving Forces

The figure walked towards the bridge. He was dressed in commoner clothing today, and disguised his face with a few cosmetic items. This made him look brunette instead of blonde, and gave him a bit of an older look.

In truth, he was Prince Zanac Varleon Igana Ryle Vaiself, second prince of the Re-Estize Kingdom.

This was a short stone bridge to the south of E-Rantel, extending over a water intake, and the person he was meeting here-

The cloaked, hooded figure stopped next to the Prince. They soon looked at the same viewpoint from the bridge, that of the capital of Re-Estize, which can be seen just barely.

"So, have you decided on an answer to my proposal?" The figure spoke.

"I've certainly gave it much thought. But what are the exact terms." Zanac asked.

"I will ruin this country, and you will put it back together while cooperating with me in the shadows. You get to look like a hero, and rule the Kingdom, and I get my resources and money from you." The man whole took off the hood spoke.

He was a giant, bald man. Tattoos of beasts appeared all over his body. A panther on the legs, a falcon on the back, a rhino on his arms, a buffalo on the chest, and a lion on the head. Of course, most of this could not be seen thanks to the cloak, save for the lion.

Zanac looked at the man's eyes to see a cold glint belonging to a seasoned warrior, and turned back to the capital.

"And you will kill my older brother for me?" He asked.

"Yes. I can kill your father too." The figure made Zanac tense.

"That would leave you as the sole royalty. Crown Prince Zanac. Doesn't that sound nice?" Battle Demon Zero leaned near Zanac.

"V-very well. We'll go on with the plan." Zanac replied, setting a series of pins in motion.

* * *

Elsewhere, in the Slane Theocracy.

The group gathered. The Captain spoke in a rallying tone.

"Black Scripture! We have been given the task of retrieving one of our own! The Thousand Leagues Astrologer has been taken!" The Captain raised his spear in a commanding way.

"Let our enemies feel the wrath of the Theocracy's Strongest Scripture!"

With this declaration, the forces of the Black Scripture exited the Gates leading to the Theocracy's Capital, and set course towards the Forest Of Tob.


	15. CH10: Antics

The commotion, instead of causing a ruckus, sent a wave of silence over the entire canteen where Neph and the Twins were.

Maybe it was the loud shouts.

Maybe it was the old lady covered in blood.

Or maybe it was the crying girl.

Despite the silence the tavern still moved in a chaotic manner as its patronage rushed to grab their gear to defend themselves for whatever was chasing this old lady.

"Alright, alright! Calm down. Now tell me, what exactly happened?" Neph spoke to Enri, announciating every word. At the same time, Gazef moved to stop the tavern's occupants from getting out of control, signaling that the situation was being handled.

"My..." She sniffed. "My friend Nferia, the grandson of this lady next to me, is a potions maker in this city. They run a magical goods shop in E-Rantel specializing in usable items. I wanted to ask him for recipes of simple herbs and tonics that would treat sickness and wounds, as we have no apothecary in our village. But as I near the back of the shop, she ran out." Enri pointed to the old lady with her hand.

"I see..." Neph spoke. He appraised the lady.

 _Potions maker, eh?_

"Diyandi, she's wounded. Treat it." Neph pointed to the bleeding right shoulder.

"Yes, my lord." And Diyandi got to work. She used the same green flame in which Enri was all too familiar with. The same spell that saved her and her sister: [Flame Of Reincarnation].

The old lady backed away at first, but after an approving nod from Enri, she let Diyandi sear the fire against her shoulder.

It did not burn, it healed. Instead of the sound of flickering flames, it was the sounds of rustling leaves. The wound slowly closed as the old lady widened her eyes at the flame's properties.

"Amazing." Gazef blurted out.

"Thank you, young lady." The old lady spoke.

"Good sir, I am Lizzie Bareare, a potions, maker." Lizzie spoke with raspy breaths. The flame had healed her injury but perhaps not the fatigue that came from running here.

"Do you know who attacked you? Do you know where your grandson was taken?" Gazef started questioning right away.

"I, I don't know where he was taken, but we were attacked by a woman with blonde hair. She utilized a large array of daggers, one of which gave me the shoulder wound. She also appeared to be wearing armor made out of adventurer tags."

The entire tavern gasped.

"That's... The Adventurer Hunter..." Gazef spoke softly.

"Adventurer Hunter?"

"Yes, a vicious criminal which appeared near these areas a few months ago. She kills mercilessly and brutally, and few have faced her and lived without suffering." Gazef spoke to the curious Neph.

"My, my grandson threw himself at her to let us get away..." Lizzie started crying again. At this, both Neph and Gazef sprung into action.

"Can you take me to your shop? I promise I will help get your grandson back." He spoke, clasping the Lizzie's small, worked hand with his own, larger, gauntlets.

"Alright." She strengthened up.

"Follow me." Lizzie started out of the tavern.

"I will go talk to the city guards to try and put out more soldiers, as to watch for possible suspicious activity, and if possible, watch for signs of the missing boy." Gazef said, finishing his drink.

"Can you take Enri with you to a safe place?" Neph asked.

"Of course, I will watch over her for you." Gazef also started out of the tavern. Enri looked at Neph and he nodded, leading her to understand that it was for her own safety. She had placed her friend's fate in Neph's hands.

As Enri left the tavern, Neph got ready as well. He took back the mask he had let Verdandi hold and put it on, completing his armor set. An oh so familiar mask to the Twins, that of several horns and two black eyes resembling a mouthless, demonic lion.

"Alright. Let's set out".

The four people stepped into the alchemical shop with a weary outlook. Bottles spilled, herbs splayed about, and tools broken.

These were the definite signs of struggles.

"This was where he stood, when he held her back to let me go..." Lizzie stood in the middle of the doorway that led to the inner parts of the shop with her arms out stretched.

"I see..." Neph replied. The twins behind him began to snoop around the shop to find any sort of available tracking evidence. Neph however, just stood there in the entrance and examined the entire shop through a mind's eye.

 _There was blood. It was blood of the woman, Lizzie, that I saw. But she described there being a struggle when this boy of hers Nferia held back the assailant._

Neph glanced throughout and saw that one particular section of the shop, the right, where the blue potions, ones he assumed were mana potions, were placed, was not as badly damaged as the rest of the shop.

The left, in contrast, was completely trashed, with one of the tables seemingly crushed by something falling on top of it. The blue potions were all spilled, and some of it mixed with the blood present. There was blood on both side of the shop, thus Neph couldn't really decide if he could use a tracking spell on the blood. There might be too many search results, or the potion contamination would make the spell fail.

 _So, if the right side is less damaged. I can assume the following: Lizzie was working on these blue potions, and the assailant, snuck up behind her, and gave her the wound on her shoulder. Lizzie must have screamed, and Nferia ran out from the inner parts of the shop, thus, the assailant then pounced on him, shattering the table._

"Is there a back exit to this shop?" Neph asked, his hand on his chin.

"Y-yes! I used it to exit the shop with Enri." Lizzie replied.

 _Ah. So Enri and Nferia were in the shop discussing something, which is why Lizzie was the first to be attacked. And during the commotion, she and Enri ran to the back door past the entrance where Lizzie was posing earlier._

 _Going by that logic, I think there should be some blood on the-_

"Eeek!" Lizzie screamed. Neph drew [Dying Empress] and the twins got ready to cast offensive spells. They trained their eyes on the area around Lizzie, and everyone focused on what she saw that made her scream.

It was a finger.

It laid on the very corner of the doorway where Lizzie stood.

Neph smiled.

"Diyandi, use that to track the boy's location." He commanded.

"As you will!" Diyandi spoke full of heart and walked over to the finger.

She used a low level telekinetic ability to levitate it up, and then suspended it in a bubble of green energy, at the same time closing her eyes.

"[Heartseeker: Fleshbound]" With these words a single red wave emanated from Diyandi. It turned invisible extremely fast, proportional to how large it was getting. As such, only the four in the shop would know that there was something exiting it.

"Anything, sister?" Verdandi asked. At this point both Neph and Verdandi had resumed a normal stance, that is for Neph, he just slung [Dying Empress] on the side.

Neph glanced at Lizzie to see that she was looking at Diyandi with eyes full of hope and remorse. He walked over and put a hand on her shoulder.

"It will be alright, ma'am." He said softly.

"Lord Neph, there's a signal." Diyandi affirmed.

"Where?"

"South of here, in what appears to be a cemetery."

 _Death cult eh? Should've figured._

"Alright. We have the location. Let's set off." Neph commanded. Verandi walked over to Diyandi and took the finger out of the green energy bubble it was suspended in, and crystalized it in ice, giving it to Lizzie.

"Keep this, when we get your grandson back my sister can re-attach it" Verdandi Smiled.

"Stay here, Madam Lizzie. We will retrieve your grandson. If Gazef happens to come here, let him know I have a location on the boy." Neph asked.

With eyes full of tears, Lizzie barely managed to choke out: "Thank... you!"

At that, the three started in the direction of the cemetery, where Diyandi's [Heartseeker: Fleshbound] had traced a signal.

They moved swiftly, weaving through the everyday street people like a gust of wind, and before long, they were there at the gates to the cemetery.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" A voice yelled. Neph had his hands on the gate of the cemetery, prepared to push it open.

"There are undead there! Even if it's day time they will wander outside and cause mass hysteria!" The voice came from a guard high above in a watchtower.

"We're looking for a boy that was kidnapped. Our sources indicate that he is being held captive somewhere in the cemetery."

"We still can't let you in! We will send for Rank Iron Adventurers to look for the boy. You three stay here!" The guard made some hand motions to direct a fellow city guard. The second guard climbed down from the tower and ran towards the direction of the Adventurer's Guild.

"This is ridiculous. We're adventurers as well!" Neph yelled at the guard.

"Where are your tags?" The guard asked.

"Tsk". Neph realized that the circumstances of their registration in the guild were special. The three didn't have any sort of tag on them at all. And Neph did not know how long it would take the guild to procure the tags. This entire situation was getting increasingly tedious to Neph.

Ignoring the guard, Neph activated a basic racial ability of his: [Intangibility] and passed right through the gates.

"What the!" The guard yelled.

"Stop that man!"

The twins followed suit with their master. Their wings were restricted, but this did not limit them. They crouched and leaped over the gate with a single bound, aided by some special [Lightning Enhance] from Verdandi.

"Neph-dono!" A familiar voice called out to Neph. He turned around to see Gazef on the other side of the gate's bars.

"The boy is in the cemetery somewhere." Neph spoke, and in that instant, Gazef understood.

"Let them go! We can trust them!" Gazef spoke to the tower guard.

"But, Sir!"

"Let them go!".

Just then, a large amount of undead rose from beneath the soil.

"This is-!" Gazef choked. There were hundreds, if not, thousands of undead skeletons rising up in broad daylight.

"But how?!" The guards yelled.

"Reinforce the gates!" Gazef yelled. At that, the three, in the middle of the undead horde rising began moving as fast as the could toward the signal of Nferia that Diyandi found.

* * *

They moved swift as the flowing winds.

With [Dying Empress], Neph ran the whip blade slithering through the horde of undead in front of them.

With a [Ember Pulse], Diyandi sent a wave of fire to make sure the skeletons on their sides did not close in on them.

And with a [Frost Bomb], Verdandi made sure that the steps of the three person party left small traps. Runes of ice which would trap those who walked over, a "ice bear trap".

They cleaved through the undead with ease, but before long-

"Stop!" Neph shouted. They were in front of a gathering of people.

"These must be the Death Cult that Gazef mentioned, Lord Neph" Diyandi said. She signaled for her sister to get ready. Diyandi procured a bow from her inventory, [Six-String Bow], a bow at a level similar to Neph's [Dying Empress]. It possessed twelve limbs extending from the middle grip, with six strings all interlocking at a similar point behind the grip for massive power.

Similarly, Verdandi pulled out a weapon of the same caliber, [Julhwen]. A straight katana imbued with the property of lightning.

"What should we do, Lord Neph?" Verdandi asked.

 _Hmm._

Neph was in deep thought.

 _In this situation, it would be quite easy to move on these guys and take them out. But that would cost us potential information sources._

He looked at the occult group. There were seven people there in the middle, chanting towards a man in the middle holding an orb. For a total of eight. Noticing Neph's stare, the man to the left of the one holding the orb spoke to him.

"Khajit-sama, there are intruders on our grave." The man said.

 _Khajit? What are you from an old video game?_

Clearing his throat with a loud "AHEM", Neph broke the chanting rhythm.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen. I believe you are Zuranon, the cult of the dead." Neph spread out his arms.

The man in the middle of the spellcaster conglomerate moved forward.

"And what of it?" The one called Khajit spoke. Neph could see that he held the orb with a tight grip, the knuckles of his hand white.

"Who are you? Masked warrior? And what business do you have with us?"

"I am Nephilentines, a new adventurer." Neph answered.

"Oh? Are you a copper plate?" Some asked. Someone not in the group gathering in front of the three that had just arrived.

Just then someone out of sight moved in a flash across Neph's vision.

Sensing the voice's intentions, Neph instinctively moved his [Dying Empress] to block an attack aimed for his neck. The [Wynter Siege] armor that Neph wore would have blocked the attack, but Neph did not want to take any chances with a low level armor.

The sound of metal clanging reverberated through the air, followed by the soft sounds of two boots touching the ground.

The woman with blonde hair looked at Neph with amused eyes.

"You could block that? You're probably not copper then."

"How dare you!" Diyandi yelled, she drew her [Six-String Bow] to fire an arrow at the blonde woman.

"Diyandi stop. Greetings, madam. You are correct, I am not a copper plate. I am a silver. May I ask if you are the one who took a boy named Nferia?" Neph bowed lightly.

"Ahahaha, how quaint you are. Yes I am. I am known as Clementine." She also bowed.

As she rose, tension built in the air in the form of a thick silence. Neph's party of three, and Khajit's party of eight, plus Clementine.

"So. Would it be too much to ask if I may take him back?" Neph's glare met Clementine's. She slyly looked away, then answered.

"Perhaps. But would you care to entertain me?"

"In what form?" Neph asked.

"Clementine this is not the time for games just kill him and be over with it already!" Khajit slammed the end of his staff into the ground.

"Now now, Khajit dear, let me enjoy myself. He seems pretty strong." Clementine said as she pat Khajit's bald head.

"This is nonsense, Lord Neph does not have time for games!" Verdandi started an attack. She leap forward with [Julhwen] to the side.

An attack that was a wide cleave, its intention was to take Clementine's head clean off. Clementine hastily ducked down, and as such, Verdandi's lightning imbued blade only cut three inches off the back of Clementine's blonde hair. As the attack passed, Clementine jumped from her position as a way to back away from Verdandi.

"That was a good strike" Clementine said. A commotion caused Verandi to look behind her. She was now close to the Zuranon group, and they had backed away as well.

"Strong as you are, I want to fight him first." Clementine signaled Neph.

 _I see. A warrior's conversation._

"Very well." Neph agreed.

"Verandi! Diyandi! Take care of Zuranon and the undead. I will deal with her personally." He ordered.

"Are we to make sure they can be interrogated?" Diyandi asked.

"You know me so well." Neph said, and followed Clementine to where he assumed was a remote location.

"You're not going to help him?" Khajit asked.

"He will die, you know. Preying on new adventurer is the specialty of Clementine. He will die, a painful death."

"Well, you see. We have faith in our Lord. Not to mention we have our own orders to deal with you." Verdandi answered.

Khajit was agitated.

"Sister, you deal with the undead horde. I'll handle these guys!"With that, Verdandi charged into the Zuranon group.

She repeated the attack she used on Clementine, and this time succeeded. She took off the head of one of the men who did not run in time. The group scattered.

 _Hmm, this will be a bit annoying to chase them all._

* * *

Diyandi had let Verdandi to her own devices and had moved away to deal with the undead horde.

 _Seriously, who does she think she is? Ordering me around like she's older than me. I'm the older one!_

With this agitated thought, Diyandi fired a single arrow at a skeleton that was blocking her path back to the gate where they entered. It was where there was the most undead.

The arrow, carrying six string's worth of forces, shattered the sternum bone of the skeleton, and did the same to the spine behind it. The core body of the skeleton had crumbled, leaving only a graphing head and limbs in a slow flailing motion.

 _Well, sister should be enough to handle the guys. I'll finish up here quick and head back. Lord Neph asked to keep them in a state where they can be interrogated._ Diyandi looked around.

 _But all of these guys are skeletons. In that case I'll just wipe them all out._

Diyandi levitated in the air for a few moments, about three meters off the ground. The took mental notes of where most of the skeletons were located, and concentrated.

 _[Rising Terra]_

Diyandi concentrated on the space between her index finger and thumb, and manifested a arrow made out of stone. Aiming vertically down into the ground, she fired with the full draw force of the [Six-String Bow]. [Rising Terra], an attack that was the opposite of a conventional [Rain Of Arrows].

The arrow sunk into the ground as if someone had dropped it into water. A second later, spears of earth erupted from the ground in a thunderous speed, impaling the majority of the skeleton horde. In an instant, she had reduced the population of the skeletons down to a mere few dozen. The spears that struck had scattered parts of skeletons everywhere, even if not directly hit the force would disassemble one.

The spears lingered for a few moments, then sank back into the even ground as quickly as they rose. With most of the skeletons now on the ground, it was now possible for the group behind the gate's fortification to see what was going on.

And all they saw was a lone girl with a odd looking bow, standing above the remains of hundreds, if not thousands of skeletons. There was only one conclusion they could reach. She did this.

"...What terrifying power..." One of the guards at the fortified gate spoke. Gazef was there too, after gathering a fortifying force. He was glad they were on his side.

"Eeeeh!" One of the guards cried, and everyone else raised their shields. Gazef looked and saw that Diyandi had aimed her bow at them, but he quickly saw her move it to where the remaining skeletons are. There were about thirty skeletons left, and one question lingered in Gazef's mind as he looked at Diyandi.

 _One arrow?_

"[Skipping Stone]" Diyandi uttered. She let loose an arrow inspired by the motions of a stone skipping over the surface of waters.

The arrow shattered the skeleton it hit, and bounced to another, repeating the same motion for all of the remaining ones. As bones crumbled to dust, the city guards stood bewildered at the power of a single woman.

Cancelling her levitation, Diyandi gave a nod towards Gazef, and headed back to where Verdandi was.

"Who are these people?" The guard on the tower asked.

And Gazef had no way to answer.

* * *

 **A/N; I apologize to the readers who have faithfully followed this story up until now for the long gap between this update and the last. University is getting quite intensive, and spare time is sparse. But seeing as there is a break in schedule, I will attempt to pump out another two or three chapters after this one, with perhaps a day or so between each.**

 **Again, I apologize to my loyal readers. I will vow to continue the story at a more regulated interval. But I promise you this, I will not drop this story until it has a conclusion.**

 **-Author**


	16. CH11: Arcs

The atmosphere was a silent one. The two walked for only a few moments to a recluse location, but those moments seemed like eternity.

 _Well. That's certainly a lot of adventurer tags. If I take her alive I'll probably profit quite a bit. We have our YGGDRASIL gold but I don't really want to spend those exalted earnings._

While Neph was going over banking in his head, the figure leading him stopped.

"So... Silver plate. Why don't you have a adventurer tag?" Clementine asked.

"I'm newly registered, just today." Neph responded.

"Oh? Skipping ranks? I've never heard of that happening. It's a shame really. I would have liked your tag in my collection." She did a shrugging motion.

Neph merely laughed. He heard a slight tremble in the earth and thought

 _So I guess Diyandi's done with her side._

Clementine noticed this as well.

"Well, I guess it's time for our play session" She said as she crouched.

And lunged with a speed even Neph was surprised at. A dagger in hand she stabbed forward at what would be Neph's right eye. Neph hastily stepped out of the way, missing the dagger by mere centimeters.

Seeing Neph's line of sight not trained on her, Clementine elbowed him with her free hand while still in the air, the impact knocking Neph back a little.

Neph gritted his teeth.

The two were now once again at a silent standstill, addressing the situation.

Neph took practically no damage. At least nothing that will last. He felt the impact but all of the damage was blocked by the [Wynter Siege] armor.

Clementine on the other hand, while she was the one attacking, was the one that was damaged.

"Ow ow ow ow ow! What is that armor made of?!" She screamed. Her eyes were now a bit more feral. They both could see that her arm was now slung to the side. Neph's neck armor was a meshed metal, and as such, her elbow looked like someone took a tenderizer to it.

 _I guess I'm still a novice after all. In game the fighting moves and techniques are command based. Here it's actual skill. Of course I would take a hit. The only good side is those commands still worked. If it weren't for this armor, I would probably be knocked out or outright dead. Makes me appreciate her skill more than Nigun's group, I killed them with simple swings._

Neph put a hand on his neck, relaxing his grip on [Dying Empress].

"Care to fix your arm?"

"W-what kind of question is that! Aren't you going to attack?!" She screamed.

"I'm not one to kill a lady unfairly." Neph bowed again. This sent Clementine over the edge.

"You'll regret giving me the time to recuperate!" She yelled. She held her dagger with her teeth and pulled out a blue potion from her back pocket.

 _A mana potion? Why-_

With a motion, she threw the knife in the air, and with her one remaining working arm drank the blue potion. To Neph's eyes, it worked wonders. Her elbow seemed to heal as if it was played in reverse. In mere moments the wound was never there.

 _So that's a healing potion. Interesting. They are blue here._

"How about that?" Clementine said triumphantly. Her eyes were fully feral now. She raised her newly healed left arm to catch the dagger which had garnered surprising airtime.

"It's a potion I stole from the innermost chambers of the Black Scripture." She laughed. Cracking her new knuckles.

"Now. Where were we?" She crouched and pulled the mace she had out.

"I'll make sure your pain is everlasting. [Greater Agility Boost]"

With that, Clementine disappeared.

Neph could not track her. He felt a sense of where she was. But it was odd.

He felt that she was everywhere. She was dancing all around him. With a gust of wind, the mace she held slammed into Neph's right shoulder, knocking him forward slightly.

The mace itself was made of a material as strong as the ones that made up [Wyner Siege] armor, and as such, both equipment did not damage one another. It was merely an exchange of force. If one of the material was weaker than the other, then it would result in the other's destruction, ending in Neph's death or Clementine's loss of a weapon.

These strikes were rapid and forceful. She aimed for every joint that could be hit.

The back of the knee, and Neph kneeled slightly.

The left shoulder, his arm slightly juttered.

 _I have to counter attack!_

Having had enough of being a punching bag, Neph swung out [Dying Empress] in a wide arc in front of him. His intentions was that this wide swing would deny angles of attacks from Clementine, but to Neph's surprise she stepped on the moving blade. Each centipede like segment of [Dying Empress]'s whip blade was a stepping stone for Clementine.

And it was here that he realized something else. As he was being struck, Clementine was calling out various buffs that Neph did not hear in the midst of the barrage of attacks.

"[Impenetrable Fortress]…[Flow Acceleration]…" All of these added either to striking speed or striking power.

Neph activated a skill of his weapon.

"[Blade Spline]" The whip blade extended to an extremely long length, and swung in a spherical fashion not unlike those of the swirls on a lollipop. This whirl of death forced Clementine to back away.

She hated to admit it, but if she was hit by that, she would have been a splatter on the ground. Despite their difference in skill she could still see that the equipment Neph wore was high class.

"Agh. You really went all out. It's my turn now. [Ghost Shift]"

Before she knew it, Neph materialized in front of Clementine.

"[Caret Spline]" The whip blade swung up in a ^ caret shape, forcing Clementine to use a combination of her still active buffs as well as raw physical power to back to the side, lest she want to be bifurcated. This sudden burst left her a bit dazed, and Neph would not miss this chance.

In the moment's confusion, Neph disappeared again and reappeared behind Clementine.

"[Caret Spline]" Another ^ caret shape and the arm that had been healed by the blue potion came off.

The segments of the whip blade [Dying Empress] tore flesh viciously as it ran each and every bladed segment through her shoulder.

The excruciating pain caused Clementine to fall to her knees, her eyes wet from tears she did not know she had cried from this raw primal pain. Neph did not feel the need to continue.

He stepped forward from behind her, lowering his weapon.

"Will you give up? I do not want to kill you." He said.

"Don't..."

"Huh?"

"...you..."

"I'm sorry what?"

"Don't you dare give me pity!" Clementine glared at Neph with a anger that shocked him. He backed away slightly, if not in fear, out of respect for just how much hatred she had towards him.

In a flash, she grabbed her now severed arm and sprinted in the direction where they came. Still a bit dazed from the bloodlust, Neph followed her to the best of his ability with [Ghost Shift].

* * *

"This is madnes-" One of the cultists screamed. His scream was interrupted by a surge of pain as Verdandi cut off his arm.

She had did this to a three of the eight men present, save for one, she cut his head off to instill fear.

 _I will present them to Lord Neph satisfyingly!_

Verdandi was in the midst of chasing another member of the cult down to neutralize when Clementine rushed back to their leader, Khajit.

She was badly wounded, her left shoulder in tatters, her arm severed.

 _Serves you right!_

Without missing a beat, Verdandi froze the cultist member she was chasing with a [Ice Thrash], and turned her attention to the returned. Verdandi used [Fastlight] to dash towards the two of masterminds behind this graveyard uprising.

Sensing an attack, Clementine braced herself with hand on ground as she kicked at Verdandi. Verdandi blocked it with her blade but was pushed back. She readied herself for another attack-

"Khajit! Do it, Summon them!" Clementine held the bald cult leader by his robe collar, eyes burning with wrath.

"A-alright!" The man hastily procured an orb from his knapsack and held it high in the air.

"Verdandi!"

"Sister!"

Verdandi turned to see Neph and Diyandi converging on her location. They all shared a brief hug as they turned to look at the two still functional members of the cult Zuranon.

"Behold! The Power, of the Orb Of Death!" Khajit yelled triumphantly. Clementine laughed hysterically while holding her shoulder. Neph saw her drink another blue healing potion yet the healing effects do not seem to include growing another arm.

"You're finished!" Clementine yelled.

The ground shook beneath the three beings not of this world. Neph and his two angels looked around for the cause and saw a mass of bone piling up. They formed themselves around a core light, and slowly grew into a shape familiar to all three people that did not belong.

A dragon.

A skeletal dragon.

 _Wow. They can do that? With how weak Khajit is I'm surprised he can summon something utilizing so much mana. Maybe it's the jewel. I should see if I can take it from him._

"You idiot! Use the rest of the power! That adventurer is no joke!" Clementine yelled. After finally realizing how panicked Clementine was, Khajit used the stone again to call forth another dragon.

"Skeletal Dragon!"

Another rumble and the mound of bones gathered into an identical dragon shape.

The twins looked to their Lord for orders. All three people did not worry, as they had realized from the battle with Nigun that they are vastly worlds above the inhabitants of this world. The twins saw that their Lord stared at the dragons with intrigue.

"Well." Neph spoke.

"I guess we should answer twins with twins."

Realizing what he meant, the two angels bowed in unison.

"As you will, Lord Neph!" They both redied a offensive.

"Hahahahahha fools! That dragon is immune to all magic, nothing can stop it! Not even you!" Khajit yelled with both hands in the air, glory radiating out from the Orb Of Death.

"Kill them!" Clementine yelled. The dragons started an attack with their front legs, attempting to stomp on the three opposition. Neph stepped forward and blocked both of the falling dragon's paws with his arms, and held them there.

"W-what!" Both Khajit and Clementine yelled.

"Do it." Neph said calmly.

"Hyah!" Verdandi leapt in the air. The dragon on Neph's left was instantly frozen with a magically amplified [Ice Thrash]. Seeing this, Neph stopped holding the paw belonging to that dragon.

Having landed on the ground, Verdandi proceeded to shatter the dragon with a attack from her sword [Julhwen].

"[Rootlight]" An attack that moved the straight katana in a stabbing motion too fast to see save for a afterimage of blue light in the shape of tree roots. The dragon fell to pieces.

Satisfied, Neph looked over to Diyandi, and she too leapt in the air.

"[Searbind Rain]!" A hail of arrows rained down on the skeleton dragon from Diyandi's [Six-String Bow], melting each part it hit into the ground, pinning it. Then, still in the air, she finished the dragon with [Petrifyre].

Diyandi held a small white flame in her hand. The flame was not one that floated above a ignition source no. It was one that appeared solid. As if the flame itself was a mass of moving waters in the shape of a flame. She simply tossed it at the remaining skeletal dragon, and the flame spread throughout the dragon's body.

With a roar, the dragon attempted a final offensive, but the [Petrifyre] turned all of its bones to stone, trapping it in eternity.

Like the first, Neph stopped holding the last dragon's paw as well. He looked towards the two standing figures that were the opponents of Neph and his two angels. They were pale and stunned.

"H-how..." Khajit uttered. With the twins finishing their work, Neph took a step in the direction of the enemy, and they took a step backwards.

"My life's work... Gone in mere moments..." Khajit was in disbelief.

A loud wailing surprised all in the scene. Clementine was the source of the wail. Activating [Flow Acceleration] again, she made off with her severed arm still in her own grasp.

"[Ice Thrash]!" Verdandi sent another freezing pulse to try and stop her, but the pulse traveled along the ground, and as such, Clementine was able to avoid it by hopping on trees and escaping.

 _Ah... If I tried, then my arrows would probably have killed her, even with binding arrows._ Diyandi thought.

"Tsk. Such a shame." Neph commented.

"Lord Neph, I apologize for my failure to apprehend her! I request punishment!" Verdandi bowed.

"It's fine. She won't be a threat anyways."

Verdandi made a motion to protest but Neph silenced it with a wave of his hand.

"Now then. Khajit was it?"

"Eek!" The bald man cowered.

 _Do I really come off as that intimidating. Oh, well, I do still have the mask on._

Neph walked up to the man and grabbed the hand holding the Orb of Death. He took it from Khajit, and examined it close. In the peripheral of his vision, Neph could see that Khajit was attempting a similar escape to Clementine, but he stopped when Verdandi put her blade against his neck.

 _Hello, great one._

A voice surprised Neph. He looked around frantically, to the surprise of the twins before he realized it was the Orb.

"Ah. It's you." He said to it.

 _Yes. I am the embodiment of the desire for death. Something you are not a stranger to._

"And? What do you want with me?" Neph asked.

 _I wish to be in your service. Perhaps as a thrall or a adviser. With your capabilities, there would be no end to the deaths we can spread!_

"Hm."

 _So the death cult Zuranon was following this thing?_ Neph thought. He looked at the black orb for a few seconds.

 _So? What do you think, my Lord?_

"I'm not interested in spreading death, even if I am capable of it." And that was the truth. To Neph, that would just be a hassle.

 _But with your powers we could be unst-_

"Neph-dono!" A voice called out to Neph. He looked in the direction that it came from and saw it was from the gates. Gazef had led a small force out into this graveyard.

"Gazef." Neph bowed. The twins did the same.

"Ah, Neph-dono, please don't do that, we are friends." Gazef gave a light chuckle. Neph joined in.

They noticed some of the guards that came with Gazef stare in awe at the scene of battle. They marveled at the petrified skeletal dragon, and poked the shattered frozen one with their spears.

 _Amazing_

 _Such power!_

 _These would have destroyed the city!_

They could hear words like these being muttered.

"This is the man that was the leader behind this uprising, as well as the-"

 _Ahh! The kid!_

"...the kidnapping that was mentioned to us at the tavern." Neph pointed at Khajit, who had now just slumped down and accepted his fate.

"Hey, you. Where is the boy you kidnapped?" Diyandi asked Khajit. She had to kick him lightly to get him to answer.

"In...In the hideout there-" He pointed at a small entrance to the underground hideout. Gazef gave a nod, and a few of the men that came with him rushed into the hideout.

"Neph-dono, what is that you're holding?"

"Ah. This. It's a magical artifact called the Orb Of Death that Khajit here was using to summon those dragons." Neph answered nonchalantly. He handed the Orb to Verdandi. The first moment she held it, she looked a bit surprised, but that was probably because of the Orb trying to communicate with her.

"Suspend it." At Neph's command, Verdandi used [Ice Thrash] to freeze the orb, rendering it docile.

"I will keep an eye out on it, and attempt to re-purpose it. In truth, it has a consciousness, and as such, was probably the true leader of this group of Zuranon." Neph continued. Gazef pondered for a moment, and answered.

"Very well. I trust you will protect us from it." Gazef grabbed Neph's hand, surprising him. They both shook hands. The jovial conclusion was interrupted by a wail.

 _Ah. Verdandi really did a number on these guys._

"Oh. Please apprehend these other members of Zuranon. I had made sure to keep as many alive as possible." Neph signaled to Verdandi. She led the remaining members of Gazef's troops to the scattered about neutralized members of Zuranon in the graveyard.

"Warrior Captain! We found the boy!" One of the guards who went into the hideout yelled. He and a few others helped the boy up from the hideout. Neph walked over to him. There was a strange item on the boy's head.

"[Appraise Item]" he whispered. The skill fed back the response as a automatic thought to Neph:

 _Item: [Crown Of Wisdom]. Changes the wearer into an item that activates extremely high ranked magic._

 _I see._ He thought.

 _What a large price to pay for power. I guess I'll remove it from him._

Neph utilized a racial ability of his ghost based class to detect the relationship of the Crown to Nferia, and saw it as a parasite feeding on Nferia's mind. With another racial skill, [Perception Bubble], he isolated Nferia's mind from the Crown, and as such, the Crown became inert. Neph simply grabbed it and threw it on the ground, stomping on it to destroy it.

"Your name... Is Nferia, correct?" Neph asked, looking at the boy's closed eyes. He was crying tears of blood, probably indicating his eyes were slashed.

"...Yes, but how did you know?"

"Diyandi." Neph said. She walked over and healed him with a spell Gazef was familiar with.

"[Flame Of Reincarnation]." She held the boy's head by the hair, causing him to panic a bit, but as she seared the flame against his damaged eyes, the wounds healed to the sound of rustling leaves. As such, Nferia stopped squirming. The city guards, seeing this, spoke in awe.

Moments later, Nferia opened his eyes to see Neph's mask. Something resembling a mouthless, demonic lion.

"I am Nephilentines. A friend of Enri's." Neph said. He bowed and took off his mask. That name spurred Nferia to action.

"Enri! Is she alright?" He rushed up to Neph. The spacing made Neph a bit uncomfortable.

"Ah... Yes. I had Gazef take her to a safe place."

"If you so wish, I can take you to her." Gazef added. Nferia gave an energetic nod.

With most of the culprits apprehended, Neph's group of three and Gazef with the city guard exited the graveyard under the shining sun, triumphant.


	17. CH12: Stay

The three walked into the inn in a triumphant mood. Having received some measure of pay from the bounty on Khajit from the adventurer's guild, they had been recommended this inn by Gazef. Neph could see that it was a fairly old building. With stains here and there. Honestly it felt to him like an old college more than an inn.

There were the same stares from the inhabitants like in the Adventurer's Guild earlier today. Men stared with lecherous and lustful eyes at Verdandi and Diyandi. Others looked to Neph with envy and fear. As anyone would when it was near night time and someone walked into a building with a mask. A mouthless, demonic lion.

Neph quickly walked over to the counter with the twins in tow, and asked the owner politely for a room of three.

"One room for three please." Neph said. The owner was still wiping a glass, and seemingly had his eyes closed, as if concentrating. Neph decided to give it a few more moments.

"Very well. That will be nine silvers, due to a large room for three." The owner responded, counting the people that were at the counter. Neph pulled out a gold coin and handed it to the owner.

He had been taught the exchange rate by Gazef via a quick conversation as he received the bounty. That was how Neph knew that the change would be-

"The change is one silver. There are drinks here, and you will be provided the most basic food, such as bread." The owner spoke.

 _Perfect. Not that math is anything hard to learn. But it seems we're gonna have to handle food... Bread, Seriously? I guess it means this country is poor or something. Enri's staying at Nferia's place to take care of him after what happened... I wonder if we should've stayed there as well, to see if we get better food than here. Though, it's not a major problem._

"Your room will be two floors up, to the left. It's pretty much the only room on that floor."

"Thank you sir." Neph did a quick bow, and started for the room with the twins in tow.

They walked in a fair pace. However, as Neph passed, one of the tavern drinkers extended a leg, causing Diyandi to stumble.

"Hey, that hurt! I'm gonna be in pain for tomorrow! Unless... you treat me..." The drunkard spoke with a sinister smile.

 _Oh? Trouble? I kind of want to see how they'll handle it._

With this in mind, Neph kept quiet and simply approached the stairs.

Diyandi merely regained her balance after stumbling, and ignored the man, walking towards her Lord. This caused the troublemaker to be agitated.

"Hey! Don't ignore me when you've caused trouble for me!" He got up and put a hand on Diyandi's shoulder.

 _Insolent._ Diyandi thought. As she turned around, ready to give the man a piece of her mind, she saw her little sister Verdandi holding the man by the neck, lifting his entire body off the ground.

Everyone was stunned. They all asked themselves how a woman could be so strong as to lift a man up with one hand over a fair bit of height.

"[Julhwen]" Verdandi whispered. Her sword began to manifest in her free hand in the form of gathering ice crystals, resembling a katana. Every onlooker watched in awe and in fear. Awe because this was magic unlike anything they've seen. Fear because this man was about to be slaughtered. The very proof is in the fact that the man's breath was now visible, as if it was extremely cold in the tavern. This is part of Verdandi's powers, but the tavern's patrons did not know that.

"Verdandi, stop." Neph ordered. He was watching from the top of the stairs. Immediately, Verdandi dropped the man. He hit the floor with a loud thud, followed by sounds of crashing as the glass he was drinking fell on his face.

"Let's go, sister." Diyandi whispered to Verdandi. The two left the patrons bewildered.

 _Interesting. Well I did design Verdandi to be more impulsive. Maybe I should forbid her manifesting the sword in civilian situations._

The three made it to their room moments later and stepped in. It was a large room, judging by the owner's words it was probably the largest here. That is, still not saying a lot. This building was smaller than other buildings that Neph had seen.

"Well. Let's relax for a bit." Neph took off the mask and set [Dying Empress] on a nearby bed. There were three beds laid out in such a way that their formation resembled the roman III. Neph took the one on the left.

This left a bit of a small problem. Verdandi and Diyandi were fighting silently and passive aggressively as to who gets the bed closest to Neph. Eventually, Neph just sighed and moved to the middle bed. The problem solved, Verdandi took the bed on the left, Diyandi on the right. They both took off their vests and set them on their respective beds. Their weapons were stored in their inventory.

"Oh yeah. We should eat."

"Do you guys want to go get the food provided?" Neph asked.

The twins both looked at one another.

"Well, if we must. But we prefer not to. Something about it just doesn't seem like it will be good." Diyandi spoke.

"Hm." Neph thought. Then a good idea suddenly came to him.

"Oh! We can have a hot pot!." He exclaimed. He walked towards the door and placed a spell on it.

"[Null Sound]" He whispered. This would cancel out all noise going through the door, preventing spies, or the occasional cooking fail, for a while.

He had Diyandi conjure up a makeshift table by manipulating some of the wood of the floorboards. It came up to about knee height, so there were no need for chairs. Next, he gave her a low level sword he had picked up from one of the skeletons in the cemetery, and she manipulated it into a pot.

"This should do!" Neph was excited. He hadn't had hot pot in a while, he thought has he pulled out [Simple Kitchen] from his inventory. In the peripheral of his eye, Neph saw Verdandi conjure a ice block out of mana, and melted it into the pot, as to get the stew going. Likewise, Diyandi did the same by igniting a controlled fire underneath the pot. Neph pulled out slices of beef, fish, vegetables, and other small ingredients and set them on separate plates on the table.

He dropped a large chunk of catfish into the pot first, and seasoned it with some salts and spices from [Simple Kitchen]. It was looking to be a great meal.

While he was cooking, he watched the two angels he and Viqtoria had created. They were having small talks as Verdandi made drinks for three. It warmed Neph up inside. This feeling. It was a family.

He felt at home.

* * *

After they enjoyed a family's dinner, the three took to their beds and attempted to sleep. They laid there in silence. Neph looked to the ceiling, then tossed and turned because he couldn't find the right "image" to think with.

He got up and slept the opposite way he had laid in bed, that is, he reoriented himself so his head was now where his foot would have been. This gave him a perfect view of the window in this room.

 _How beautiful. There are so many stars. Come to think of it, back in my world, everything was too polluted to see this many. I wonder if the stars are different? Is Alpha Centauri there? Phecda? Maybe one day, when I have better understanding of this world, I can explore out there._

He glanced to the left side. Verdandi was sound asleep. She was sprawled all about the bed as if she was a guy. Highly unladylike.

 _I should lecture her about this. Jeez I'm becoming more of a dad everyday._

He stared at her a bit longer. Her flowing white hair spilled over the bed. It looked like some sort of liquid clouds in the way it shimmered under the candlelight. She was still in her sleeveless turtleneck, but she had rolled the collar down. His eyes dropping to her chest, he looked away, and turned to the right side.

It was where Diyandi was, and as his eyes turned over he saw her eyes met his. It startled him a bit, but he held in the jitters.

"Can't sleep?" He asked.

She nodded her head.

"I feel the same. Something just feels, off." He added.

"Hey. I've been meaning to ask... Do you resent me? For telling the truth about your creator?" His voice got a bit quieter near the end. They both stared at the window with the stars in canvas. It was a long silence, but she did respond.

"I, as the creation of you and Lady Alekszara, I can not be mad at you. You two gave us the gift of life, and we can never repay you for that. But..." She stuttered. Neph could see that she was teary eyed.

"I can't help but feel it's unfair. To think that Supreme Beings like you are so vulnerable in the higher realms to simple machinations of life... It's unthinkable." She sat up in bed. Her legs on the side facing Neph. He sat up as well. He had no idea what to say. He was in her position once, feeling the weight of the world.

And in her position he simply did not know how to deal.

He sat up as well, and walked over the very short distance to her bed, and hugged her.

"I... I guess, at the end of it all, what I'm really mad about is that there is no face. If it were a simple matter of someone had killed her, then I could devote my life to vengeance. If it were a simple matter of an illness, I could devote my life to making sure no one else suffers the same. If there was a cause, I'd have a purpose." She choked out. He held her head. He agreed with everything she said. He was happy she got to vent all this out.

 _I guess I really do need to stop thinking of them as programs. I really did, by miracle of coming to this world, create two lives._

He kissed her on the forehead, and returned to his bed. She did the same, but now she laid like him, with toes to the window, staring at the stars.

"Say... Lord Neph." Diyandi asked.

"Yes?"

"Do you think she's out there?" She added. Her voice was a bit more bright now.

"I... I don't know. But in my heart, I do dare to hope. Because I want to keep dreaming like this." He responded.

"Mm." Diyandi made a noise.

She was the first to fall asleep, after who knows how long staring at the stars.

Neph fell asleep afterwards, the insomnia of sleeplessness reminding him of the times he spent with _Her._

* * *

The morning came like a rising tide. Neph opened his eyes to see the sun's rays beaming directly onto him, causing him to wince and cover his eyes with his arms.

 _Ah. The downside to sleeping like this._

He slowly got up and saw that both of the Twins were still asleep. They weren't forced to work much, but Neph let them continue sleeping for a bit more.

 _Come to think of it, we all have Rings Of Sustenance. I guess we can use those when we need to go without food or sleep. Living without enjoying food is just... miserable._

He walked more towards the window and saw that it was around early noon. Most of the street vendors were starting to set up their shops. The city guards were out and patrolling about.

 _Seems like a lively place. I wouldn't mind living here._

Then a knock came from the door. Neph was a bit suspicious, but he had no reason to be scared. His fight with Clementine yesterday practically cemented the fact that he was invincible, even if he got pushed around, it was a slaughter on Clementine's part. With this in mind he walked towards the door confidently.

He stopped for a moment to wonder if he should get his mask. He had taken it off to sleep.

 _Well. I'm not me without it._

"I'll be there in a moment." He said loud enough that the visitor outside the door can hear. He grabbed the mask and put it on, then opened the door.

"Hello- Woah!" The woman at the door exclaimed. She was a bit startled.

"Ah. Forgive me." Neph did a slight bow. He opened the door looking out, as such he was practically inches away from her face, of course she would be startled.

"Ahh. Uhm." The girl was startled. Feeling it was his fault he sought to introdu-

"Who is it, Lord Neph?" Diyandi awoke. She was groggy and looked a bit messy, having slept in her [Gorgonic Tongues] outfits.

"She's-"

"I'm Brita. I am an Iron ranked adventurer." She bowed.

"Oh?"

"Do you need help or something?" Neph asked, getting to the point.

"I uh. I want to ask you a few questions. You're... You're all unlike any people I've seen before." Brita responded.

"Verdandi, wake up!" Diyandi said, and pushed her sister in bed until she showed signs of life.

"Uwaaahh~" Verdandi finally got up.

"Uhm. Who are they?" Brita asked, staring at the twins, curious.

"They are... Well, my companions." Neph wasn't quite sure how to describe their relationship. For starters, saying that he was their father would seem... Awkward to him.

"So. What did you want to ask?" Neph said, he too was looking at the twins. Diyandi shook Verdandi a bit more, and Verdandi conjured up a floating ice basin. The water in the basin was cool, not frostbitingly cold. As such, they both partook of it as a way to freshen up.

"About that. How can they do that? It's unlike any magic I've ever seen before. I saw her create a sword out of thin air last night in the lower tavern halls." Brita answered.

"It's... Uhm... It's a special type of magic..."

 _Crap. How do I explain this. Elementalism isn't particularly a high tier of magic but it requires special training. It's not even a tier it's a category. I'm a fool for assuming it would be known here. It's a dead giveaway that we are not from this world. And I can't be sure I am the only YGGDRASIL player here._

Neph pondered all of this in a flash. The twins behind him put on their vests and came to the door as well. Just as they were about to introduce themselves to Brita, Brita was surprised by the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs.

He stuck his head out of the doorway. It was Enri. Her eyes lit up in surprise as she recognized the mask.

"Neph-sama!" She rushed over.

"Gazef asked me to come get you. He says that your adventurer tags are ready at the Guild."

"Oh! Sweet. We'll head there right now." Neph was a bit relieved. He went and pick up [Dying Empress] off the side of the bed it was leaning against. Brita took one look at the blade and was frightened, but she was a bit calm because the girl that just arrived seemed to trust this man.

"Sorry Brita. It seems I have to head out. If we meet again, I will answer your questions more faithfully." He shook her hand, and rushed off, grabbing Enri with him. The twins did the same.

Alone in the hallway, all that was left in Brita's mind was:

 _Who are these people?!_

* * *

Neph walked into the adventurer guild with a steady pace, followed by the twins. They moved to smoothly it was almost as if they floated over to the receptionist. The only person lagging behind was Enri.

There were whispers abound in the guild. Some of them spoke of the three in awe. Some in fear. The city guards had conversed about the cemetery incident. The rising of the undead. The birth of skeletal dragons which could have burned the town to cinders. They knew very well who was responsible. Zuranon. And the Adventurer Hunter. These two names alone shook the beings of those who knew about them to the core.

And then there were three new names to be known. The spreading of rumors and fantasies from overhearing Gazef's men and the Guards near the cemetery built a reputation for Neph and the Twins like a pyramid overnight.

After the battle, the rumors of what they did in the cemetery got around. Many people interested in adventurers, or were adventurers themselves came to the gate of the cemetery to peer through. They found proof. Remains of two large skeletal beings. Skeletal dragons.

After seeing that, the entire guild watched as Neph and the Twins received their adventurer tags.

"Huh? What is this?" Neph looked at the plate he was given. It doesn't look anything like silver. In fact, it was more greenish in hue.

"Ahh. About that. Me and Theo talked it over. We believe Silver would be a class too low for your abilities. So we went ahead and gave you Mythril plates off the bat." Pluton spoke. It shocked the entire guild into silence.

"Oh! Congratulations Neph-sama!" Enri clapped.

"Ah. Well. I, thank you?" Neph was a bit confused. He didn't mind climbing through the ranks, the rationale being that it would give him more time to explore before he would need more knowledge of the world.

As confused as he is, he bowed, and the Twins followed suit. They then exit the guild, and head towards the gate where Enri's friend Nferia was, and set off for Carne Village.


End file.
